The Woes of a House Husband
by Silverlight10243
Summary: Being a house husband wasn't easy. Who could have known? - Collection of drabbles and one-shots regarding Boruto and Sarada's family. A semi-continuation of 'What Might Have Been.' Mostly fluff.
1. Contemplations

**A/N: Okay, so techincally this is a semi-continuation of 'What Might Have Been' in that it sort of expands on the epilogue. That being said, this can totally be read as a separate story, which is bolstered by the fact that I altered a few details mentioned in the epilogue.**

 **Here's a brief, rough time line of things:**

 **-Boruto and Sarada get married when they are both 21.**

 **-Boruto and Sarada have their first kid, Itachi when they are 22.**

 **-Their twins - Asami and Eriko - were born when they are 26.**

 **-Their last child, Keisuke, was born when they are 29.**

 **-Sarada becomes the Hachidaime Hokage when she is 31.**

* * *

Being a house-husband was hard. Who could have known?

Granted, Boruto assured himself that it was only a temporary arrangement, that once Keisuke was off with own genin team, he would return to work as some jonin commander.

It wasn't always like this. Before Sarada became the Hachidaime Hokage, their parental duties used to be shared a little more evenly.

When their first son Itachi was born, in fact, it was Sarada who took a leave from work (albeit only for less than a year.) Even when their twins Asami and Eriko came into this world, they both took alternating leaves of absences, with Sarada being appointed as both a special jonin commander and an advisor to the Hokage and Boruto rising through the ranks of ANBU.

However, by the time little Keisuke opened his eyes, it had become clear that Sarada was going to become the next Hokage and Boruto would have to be the one to prioritize child-rearing. Hence, Boruto quit his job at the ANBU, started taking missions part-time, and delved into what would transpire to be a more-than-10-year lifestyle as a house-husband.

Nothing could have prepared him for it.

Kids were naughty and untamable. Eriko, in particular, got into troubles on a daily basis, fighting with her peers, making loud jokes in class and coming up with novel ways to piss Shino-sensei - who, bless him, was still working at the Academy - off. Consequently, visits to the Academy Principal's office became a routine journey. Itachi was always well-behaved and Asami too shy to do anything bad, yet Keisuke, in spite of his sweet and innocent demeanor, in spite of his goody two shoes facade and politeness in front of teachers, regularly initiated pranks and organised mischief amongst the ranks of his fellow students at the tender age of four. He was no better at home either, dying Boruto's hair purple and green once in the man's sleep. Sarada chuckled and found it funny, before heading straight to work, much to Boruto's chagrin. Indeed, things are much easier when you're not the one who has to deal with the kids all the time.

Looking after kids was exhausting. Changing nappies, something Boruto had to go through for Keisuke especially, was hell. Waking up three in the morning was hell. Dark circles, unfortunately, had become a permanent phenomenon on Boruto's facial features. Sarada, though, insisted that he still looked handsome as ever.

Did Boruto ever feel a little staid and left out of the shinobi life? At times, yes. Without a doubt.

Sometimes, Boruto tettered on the verge of giving up, vowing that he would ditch this life and jump straight back into the bloody and adventurous life of a ninja because facing off bandits and alien demigods was far, far easier than dealing with his devil-children - and then he'd immediately feel bad about thinking these thoughts. He loved his wife, he loved his children, he loved his family and he loved this life. More than that, he was proud of them too - his wife and his children. They were incredible people who did incredible things.

And he was fiercely protective of them, as evidenced by the fact that he insisted on accompanying Sarada to every single Gokage meeting (and temporarily handing his fatherly duties to Mitsuki.) When someone tried to assassinate Sarada at their home, Boruto made sure the said assassin received the most painful death in the world by slow, brutal electrocution, even though Sarada wasn't even at their home and he was sure she could have handled the assassin herself. When some anonymous person tried to target Eriko and Asami during a school trip, Boruto rushed to the scene and decapitated said person, much to the awe and fear of their instructor Shino and their fellow students. ("My dad is the coolest!" Eriko had bellowed to her classmates.)

He cared deeply about their well-being too. He ensured that all the meals he packed for the kids were well-balanced, containing an array of vegetables, much to Eriko's complaints that there was a dearth of Ramen, to which Boruto dismissed as irredeemable junk food. When Keisuke cheekily traded his bento - filled with cabbages, tomatoes and carrots - away for pokey sticks and chips, Boruto scolded the boy and grounded him for a week, which did not end there, given that Keisuke incessantly strove to find ways to escape the house and Boruto had to stop the boy all the time. When Asami nervously cried at the prospect of a class presentation, Boruto had to install confidence in her and coach her with his (limited) public speaking skills. When Sarada stubbornly insisted on pulling an all-nighter, Boruto stubbornly insisted that she go to bed. When she refused, he offered her back massage services instead, to which she would reluctantly agree. When she finally dozed off at four in the morning, Boruto dutifully carried her off to their bed and slept beside her. When Sarada snuggled up next to him and he kissed her on the neck, all his frustrations melted away. (Itachi, out of all of them, seemed to be the least troublesome one. The only time Boruto worried about the boy was before his first mission, as he seemed to have caught on a cold.)

Ask anyone in Konoha and they would respond that yes, Boruto Uzumaki was a deeply invested family man. He attended every single parents' evening at the Academy and often visited his wife at the Hokage tower during late dinner, delivering her food and then dining with her. He was also one of the four males of an otherwise all-female parenting network group twenty-something people, which dedicated itself to organizing family events and offer training courses to new parents. It included his sister Himawari, Sumire, his friend and fellow male Denki, Wasabi and Namida. Weirdly, being amongst gossiping housewives hadn't made his head explode. Yet.

Life wasn't easy, but Boruto sure felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Besides, given that Keisuke was now six, he only had six more years to go.

* * *

 **A/N: So, this will basically be a collection of related one-shots and drabbles related to Boruto and Sarada's family. It's basically my own wish fulfillment and main method of passing time/ procrastinating whilst I'm slowly dying on the inside from uni life.**

 **I literally started this because I couldn't get overprotective!house-husband!Boruto out of my mind xD**


	2. Saving Valentine's Day

**A/N: This is what I do instead of homework.**

* * *

At the age of 35, Boruto would still consider himself a fairly attractive man, as Sarada would often tease and attest. He was still in shape, being Sarada, Shikadai and Metal's favourite sparring partner (and he often earned a few admiring looks from women in the streets.) He was still a capable fighter and shinobi, even though he had stopped going on missions. He still had all of his hair, unlike Iwabe, who was balding and who shielded most people from that fact by constantly wearing those godawful hats. His features were still as good-looking as usual, a narcissistic voice at the back of his head would often cheekily whisper.

But damn it, there were still times when he would still feel a little insecure, times when he felt that Sarada was too good for him. In spite of all their years of marriages, these times do frustratingly pop up. Sometimes, and he chided himself for these intermittent thoughts, he would feel a tinge of envy whenever Sarada conversed with a young and attractive man. She was naturally warm and friendly in demeanor and, at times, he would paranoidly speculate on them developing feelings for his wife and then play out a scenario in his head where he would have to threaten them away and then incur Sarada's wrath for being dumb, before finally quashing these ridiculous thoughts. Maybe Sarada did have a point that an idle life breeds a restless mind. Wise words.

"Boruto - what are you getting Sarada for Valentines' Day tomorrow?" Himawari's nosy, nosy comments interrupted his stream of thoughts.

They had decided to embark on some sibling bonding time, though Boruto wasn't sure why this was especially necessary, given that they were both stay-at-home spouses (who willingly relegated themselves to the Konoha Reserve Force) and practically see each other every day anyway. He was making dinner for his family. He was getting pretty good at it - again, well-balanced, nutritious and none of that bullcrap about ramen. Himawari, in the meantime, was knitting a pair of socks for her six-year-old son and another hat for her four-year-old daughter.

"Uh."

He froze. He had completely forgotten about this.

"Boruto?"

"I... don't know," Boruto admitted lamely.

"Boruto..."

"I know! I know! I'm thinking, okay? Really..."

Himawari's death stare could chill you to the marrow.

"Okay, Himawari, now you're making me feel bad. Thanks."

"Good." Himawari gave him a sweet grin. "I'm sure you'll figure things out with her. Now, big brother, what's this complaint I've been hearing about you banning ramen from the house?"

"Ramen is trash," Boruto replied nonchalantly, glad that his sister switched topics. Then he stopped, realisation suddenly dawning on him. "Wait, did Eriko ask this? I knew she did. Did you feed her ramen when she went to your house last weekend? That's unacceptable! You know dad spoils her enough already with their godforsaken trips to Ichiraku Ramen. With the amount of ramen she consumes even after my restrictions, her insides will be made of tonkotsu broth and-"

"Boruto... First things first, it's my house and not yours. I can do whatever I want. Secondly, Eriko merely picked up the ramen gene that runs in our family. Honestly, where did you get your nagging skills and control freak tendencies from? That I will never know. You are becoming more domestic by the day," Himawari teased.

"I'm merely being a responsible parent!" Boruto protested indignantly.

~X~

Boruto scratched his head again and again as he waited to pick up his children Asami, Eriko and Itachi from the Academy. Just what was he supposed to do for Sarada for Valentines' Day tomorrow?

Take her out for dinner? Too standard.

Buy her a necklace? Been there, done that.

Buy her a new book? She's probably read it anyway.

Go on vacation with her? What kind of thing is a one-day vacation?

Make his own romantic dinner with her in their house (after getting the kids out of the way, presumably asking Kakashi or Mitsuki to look after them) and then playing some of Sarada's favourite music while taking her ballroom dancing? Hmm... that sounded like a decent plan.

Except he only had one day left. One day to prepare the recipe, to repair their old and broken CD player and to, well, contact either Kakashi or Mitsuki and then persuade his cheekly little children to go along.

Heck, he's been through worse, managed crises far more severe - like stopping a chakra bomb right below the daimyo's castle. Why not give this a try?

"Boruto!" An excited voice shouted.

It was Izumi, one of his acquaintances and fellow parent and member of parental organisation. "Hi Izumi." He waved at her.

"Boruto! Izumi!" Sumire greeted them both with a smile.

Boruto gave her a friendly nod.

Wasabi, Namida and Aiko arrived too.

"Yo Boruto!" A familiar voice sounded.

"Iwabe?! The hell are you doing here?!" Boruto's mouth fell.

"My wife's says she's got a hospital shift," Iwabe said while shrugging, "What, I can't pick up my kids?"

"Awww, it's good that Boruto's not the only dude here for once," Aiko giggled.

"Anyways," Izumi asked the group, "I heard that Nami has been having problems with Tadashi, you see they..."

"Are they always this gossipy?" Iwabe whispered in Boruto's ear, to which Boruto responded with a gentle nod. Sighs could be heard.

"You doing anything with your wife for tomorrow?" Boruto asked.

"We're going to the hot springs together. Booked a private section."

"Damn."

~X~

"Cabbages, tomatoes and some spinach please," Boruto politely asked the old lady at the vegetable stall.

"You should reward your family once in a while, Boruto-sama." She winked humourously."Really, with all the greens you are giving them." Another chuckle.

"It's... actually for my wife," Boruto explained defensively. "I want to make her a special dinner for tonight."

"My, my aren't you a romantic one? Been treating our Hokage-sama well?" The old lady grinned. "Still, spoil her a little. She deserves it after the past few years of service."

~X~

"Boruto-kun! So good to see you!" Ino Yamanaka greeted him ecstatically as he entered the flower store.

"I'd like a bunch of roses?" Boruto said rather unsurely. "For my wife later today, of course."

"Oh no problem!" She came over and kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. "My, my you have grown into a fine young man. I remember when you were still a kid and I was still making bets with Sasuke about whether you would end up with Sarada. I won, of course."

"Right," Boruto answered rather awkwardly, being still suffocated in her embrace. "That's... very good to know."

~X~

Groceries? Done. Flowers? Mission accomplished. Sending the kids to Kakashi? Check. (Although the man had initially protested vehementally.) Now comes the hard part: fixing the CD player.

Boruto had battled deities, fought in wars, carried out countless assassinations, rescued daimyos - and heck, even saved his own Hokage and wife (sort of.) This should have been easy. Easy peasy. It had to be. He had a screwdriver in one hand and an instruction Manuel on the other so what could go wrong?

His thoughts wandered off to the day he finally plucked the courage to ask Sarada out. Mitsuki had been teasing him, goading him for months, years even. Shikadai had been snickering at the numerous circumstances he backed off and chickened out. Inojin rolled his eyes and told him to get on with it. Himawari had given him a long, long speech about how her big brother was an idiot and that if he didn't act soon enough, Sarada would be taken, given her vast array of admirers.

Admittedly, Boruto felt a little insecure. There were times when he thought Sarada was way out of his league. There was no denying that she was beautiful. She grew out her hair, with the long and lustrous curls cascading down her back. She got contact lenses - not that he ever thought she looked bad with glasses. Her frame had grown tall and lean. But, more than anything, her warm smile consistently succeeded in disarming him, reducing him internally into a puddle of mush. Sure, he had known her since time immemorial, back when they were roudy kids in the Academy. Sure, to him, she was a best friend, something he could always trust with everything, rely on everything and confide in everything - well, almost everything, that is, everything sans the feelings he had about her. And there lies the problem.

Something was stopping from asking her out. Insecurities about himself, whether their friendship would change and what lies ahead for them paralyse his thoughts and actions. Time and time again, lumps formed in his throat that eventually throttled his confessions.

Yet that day, Boruto finally decided that enough was enough and that he was going to ask her out and if things turned out badly, at least he'd never live through the rest of his life with lingering feelings of regret of what might have been, at least if she ended up with another man, he'd never be able to say "I could have had her, if I had been brave enough to ask."

And with the words "will you go out with me, alone - to the festival?" they were dating. It was much easier than he thought it would be. Turns out that she liked him back. They kissed - his first time and her first time - and the rest was history. Sometimes, Boruto wondered what would have happened had he continued to chicken out. Would Sarada grow impatient with him and ask him out herself? Would she end up with another guy - Shikadai? Mitsuki - no, not Mitsuki. Iwabe? Inojin? He-

"SHIT!"

The old CD player was on fire. No, scratch that: the entire corner of the room was on fire.

The roses he bought were ablaze too. So were his groceries, which he had so carelessly placed in the corner.

He had been too distracted by his thoughts.

"DAMN!"

Quickly, he conjured up a water jutsu and extinguished the flames.

Except his plan was in tatters.

No flowers, no romantic music, no special dinner.

Frustrated, Boruto slumped to the floor. There goes Valentines' dinner.

Sighing, he got up and started cleaning the space up. Yet, at the same time, old insecurities came flooding back, intermingled with a feeling of persistent guilt. Still, dinner had to be made. There was no question.

Pulling himself together and taking numerous deep breaths, Boruto approached the cupboard and took out a packet of instant curry - yes, they would have to settle for that tonight. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it wasn't too bad. Sarada would surely tolerate it, especially if he told her about his escapade with the burnt old CD player. He'd improvise something, maybe sing her a song. There was also some ice-cream in the fridge that he could potentially use for dessert.

Still, Boruto felt terrible. It couldn't be helped. He had let his wife down. It would all be a huge disappointment for both of them - he knew it would be, it -

"Boruto! I'm home!"

He froze.

It was his wife.

His wife had come home.

"Shit." He mouthed, hoping that she didn't hear him.

~X~

"Boruto?" Sarada frowned as she saw him in the kitchen's corner, concern etched on her face. 'What's the matter?"

"I... may have caused a fire in the kitchen," Boruto gulped. "Small fire though."

Sarada's gazed switched to the bin, with burnt flowers, vegetables and components of CD players tossed in it.

"I'm sorry," Boruto blurted out. "I wanted to make dinner for us tonight and give you flowers - the plan all went to waste though, seeing as I'm a moron who can't fix the CD player properly."

"Oh Boruto!" Sarada rushed towards him and gave him a tight hug. "That's so sweet of you to think about making dinner. But I've already got us tickets to Icha Icha Dance!'s concert. I wanted it to be a surprise so I hid it from you and pretended I had work!"

She grinned a little sheepishly, feeling a bit apologetic. Expecting Boruto to utter some snarky comment, she added, "What? Can't the Hokage have a bit of fun? I'm sorry I caused you so much distress and-"

She felt his lips press against hers. "I love you," he muttered as the kissing moved to her forehead.

"Boruto..."

"Thank God... Just what did I do to deserve you?"

"Boruto! Come on! Now you're just being dramatic!" She gave him a mock-retort.

"Okay," he replied. "So, we're putting on disguises right? I mean, it'll be pretty fun to pretend to be two random young teenagers. Also saves us from all the attention we might get."

They laughed.

Boruto then lifted her up bridal-style and carried her to their room, all while Sarada moaned about just how inappropriate it was for the dignified Hokage of Konoha to be carried around like this and Boruto guffawed in response.

"Also, vegetables? Boruto, cut some slack!" Sarada giggled. "We can indulge ourselves once in a while with junk food - especially if it's Valentine's Day!"

"Burgers then?"

"Burgers indeed."

* * *

 **A/N: Yup! The image of a paranoid Boruto thinking of what to do for his wife just wouldn't get out of my head hahahaha.**

 **Also, this collection of oneshots and drabbles would not be purely Boruto-centric. I'm actually planning to write more about the children - developing them should be a lot of fun!**

 **Let me know what you want to see and what you thought about this chapter in the reviews!**


	3. Insecurities and Apprehensions

Sarada was a formidable ninja and you are damned if you piss her off.

Now that she was pregnant - on her third trimester, to be precise - you'd be dead if you tried to.

It would be their first child, a boy, according to their recent medical tests. They had already decided on the name Itachi, in honour of the uncle that the child will never get to meet. Sasuke had smiled when they informed him of this decision.

Now, Boruto thought, if only Sarada would stop over-working herself, things would be perfect. Yes, she had taken a break from dangerous missions and confined herself to C and D ranks and helping with the Hokage's paperwork, but it was still too damn much, in his opinion. She needed full rest, preferably with him as her prime caretaker and pampering her with affections.

"Sarada, look, I don't care if you still fifty more documents to sign, I'll do it for you. Just go to bed!"

"Boruto, look, I only have fifty documents to sign. Just let me finish damn it!"

"Sarada, normally I'd be fine with your ridiculously workaholic antics but you are heavily pregnant right now and maybe, just maybe, you deserve some rest. Also, you know, for the sake of our baby..."

"Just shut up and let me finish this!" She snapped.

"Sarada, come on, you'll have plenty-"

"Will you just shut up?!"

"Okay, now you're being unreasonable!"

"Oh go away! Let me concentrate!"

"Seriously, this isn't even that big of a deal-"

"For you! These documents are no small deal for me! Nor for the people they affect!"

"Now you're being dramatic!"

Silence. Only the sound of Sarada's pen scribbling on paper resounded through the room, for none of them uttered a single word.

His wife was completely ignoring him.

She continued to ignore him even after finishing her stash of paperwork, directly heading to the door without so much of a glance in his way.

"Hey, Sarada! What's wrong with you?!" He rushed behind her.

No response.

"Not cool, girl. Not cool at all."

Still nothing. Not a word.

"Yo, you're not seriously considering not speaking to me for an entire night, right?"

~X~

He trailed behind her - all the way from her office to their home.

"Sarada, come on, now you're just being petty..."

He slammed the door, folded his arms and faced her.

She rolled her eyes and kept walking.

He got in front of her and blocked her way.

She glared at him - and mouthed the words 'out of my way.'

"No," he uttered defiantly. " I was just concerned about you, why are you acting so dramatic about this?! Honestly, out of all the years I've known you, this is the most unreasonable you have been - okay, maybe sans that time in that other world when-"

"Boruto," Sarada finally spoke out loud, she was huffing and puffing, chest heaving up and down, "When I work in my office. I would like to be, well, undistracted, especially from my husband, who, by the way, shouldn't be in there the first place. Secondly, who the hell do you think you are telling me when to stop working and-"

"I'm your husband! And I care-"

"Oh, so you think husbands can tell their wives whatever they want-"

"For fuck's sake that was not what I meant! And for the record, I was merely concerned about you. You're not sleeping very much, you've got eyebags all the time, you're also quite heavily pregnant, which is not a very combination with your current hours of sleep. And more than anything, care about your well-being because I love you! You have to learn how to rest and to stop... being so damned insecure!" Boruto's face was red after he finished his ranting. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I care about you?!"

Sarada took a deep breath and slumped.

"I'm scared," she whispered, her composure now stiff, frigid.

"I know how you feel," he said understandingly, approaching her and holding her hands.

"No you don't," she mumbled. "I... I just don't know what the future holds."

"Me neither."

"What if I'm a bad mother? What if I can't do this properly for our child? What if I'm forced to give up my dream of being Hokage because our kid needs me? What if I'm forced to choose? I don't know if I can do this."

Sighing, Boruto looked into her eyes."Sarada... whatever happens, I want you to know that I'll always be there for you and that we'll go through everything together. We'll share our parenting responsibilities. Heck, I'll even do most of it if need be. I knew exactly who I was marrying when I asked you to spend the rest of your life with me. I'm the son of a Hokage and I know exactly what kind of sitution we'll be in."

"None of the other past Hokages were mothers..."

"So what? You'll just have to be the first. There's a first for everything."

"What if I'm terrible at it?"

"You won't be. Anyone as smart, dedicated and skilled as you would be a blessing to us all."

"Now you're just using flattery," Sarada chuckled.

"Tell me, Sarada, is this the reason why you're being overly harsh on yourself?"

"Possibly," Sarada mumbled. "Okay, probably yes."

Without thinking, Boruto kissed her on the lips. His hands wandered to her belly, caressing it.

"Don't worry. We can do this together. Know that I'll support you and your choices no matter what."

"Even when I decide to pull an all-nighter?" Sarada asked cheekily, the glint returning to her eyes.

"Except when you're heavily pregnant. Now please just go to bed."

"Only if you go to bed with me." She gave him a wink.

"Oh no, we're not doing this. Come on, this is the epitome of being unreasonable-"

"I was just kidding, silly."

Boruto sighed in relief.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's me trying to portray Sarada's initial insecurities about being both Hokage and a mother. And Boruto being both simultaneously crazily protective and the most understanding husband in the world.**

 **Next chapter will revolve around the kids, most likely. That being said, feel free to pitch in suggestions! There most certainly will be a chapter featuring a cameo by alt-Sasuke some time in the future.**


	4. The Most Awesome Dad Ever

Itachi was always the well-behaved one. Being quiet, observant, soft-spoken and considerate, Boruto virtually never had to shed a single drop of sweat over the boy. Sarada's father, at times, even likened little Itachi to his own brother.

There were definitely similarities. Like his namesake, little Itachi was a prodigious ninja, mastering the art of Shurikenjustu at a young age, consistently topping his class in the Academy and awakening his Sharingan before graduation. Unlike his namesake, little Itachi's specific traumatic event was not the witnessing of hundreds of deaths in some grim war but rather the fear and agitation he felt when two of his siblings, Asami and Eriko, were kidnapped during a school trip.

After hearing the news from a panting and exhausted Kizumi, the daughter of ChoCho who was the only one to escape, Itachi immediately lost his cool, ran out of his classroom and tried to go after the kidnappers and the kidnapped himself. It was when he encountered two rogue chuunin in the streets and fought them that he felt his vision alter. He put up an admirable fight, taking one of the chuunins down all by himself, yet ultimately, he was overwhelmed by chakra exhaustion and fainted, but not before Boruto noticed the commotion and came to the rescue.

Indeed, like Itachi Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha-Uzumaki would do anything for his siblings.

Except maybe when his siblings were being annoying little pranksters - like when three-year-old Keisuke decided it would be a good idea to replace grandpa Naruto's bowl of ramen with worms from the garden when the man wasn't noticing. Or when Eriko tried to deface the Hokage monument. Brothers have standards.

~X~

Asami was viewed by many as being rather meek, rather shy and rather easily pushed around. Some may even use the word weak.

It was true that she often struggled to articulate her thoughts in front of large groups of people. It was also true that while Eriko would immediately pursue to beat up whoever offended her, Asami preferred to stay away from conflict. It was definitely true that people often compared her with her twin and wonder with bemusement just why they were so different. (Though Aunt Himawari insists that Asami merely took it after her grandmother Hinata.)

But Asami was no weakling, as her former bullies can attest.

Kagami Watanabe was a member of her class. He and his own gang of minions liked to pick on people. They took away lunches, pulled the girls' ponytails (except Eriko's because no one bullied Eriko), beat up boys they didn't like and made rude jokes all the time.

Initially, Kagami saw Asami as an easy target. She was, in his view, far too kind and shy; she was also Eriko's sister, who Kagami was too scared to get at. So they started making fun of her, stealing her bento and calling her 'ugly' and 'stupid.' Kagami always sat behind her and touched her hair, which was very unwarranted.

Asami tried ignoring them at first. Only they simply wouldn't stop and the situation became unbearable. She felt what little confidence she had crumbling. Nothing her friends said made her feel any better.

"I wish I could be more like my sister," Asami muttered to her father one day. "She never had any bullies."

"She had detentions instead," Boruto quipped. "From all the fights and pranks she's been in. Each to their own.

Asami suppressed a chuckle.

"But Kagami never bothered her," Asami replied, downcast. "Why me dad? Why does he always pick on me?"

"Look Asami, there's nothing wrong with you. You're a wonderful girl who's smart, beautiful, talented and kind. Sure, you can be shy at times but there's nothing bad about it. I'm confident you will figure out something to do," Boruto said, comforting her as he prepared the family's dinner.

"Beat him up!" shouted little Keisuke, his voice squeaky. "I hate Kagami! I took my friend's lunch box! And my chocolate cookies!-"

"I do not recall giving you cookies," Boruto interjected, frowning with slight disapproval.

"Aunt Himawari gave them to me!" Keisuke stuck out his tongue.

"Beat him up..." Asami mused. "But I'm not Eriko..."

"Well, some people need to be taught lessons," Boruto said, prodding her gently because, damn it, that Kagami kid sounded like a real jerk and jerks need their comeuppance. "You fight better than him, right? Stand tall and don't give in to bullies. You hear me?" He gave her an encouraging smile. "If mum scolds you, you'll have my full support.

Asami nodded.

The next day, Asami challenged Kagami to a duel in the playground.

From then on, Kagami never bullied her ever again. (Though Kizumi insisted that he had fallen in love with her.)

In fact, no one ever bullied Asami again.

~X~

Sometimes, Eriko hated being the daughter of Boruto Uzumaki. Her dad was very controlling and very protective.

He seemed to have an unjustified dislike of ramen. He also insisted that the whole family eat 'healthy' - whatever the hell that meant. Basically no chocolate, no chips, no ice cream, no ramen and lots and lots of vegetables. Sometimes, even mum was annoyed by this. This was why Eriko loved the weekends she spent at grandpa Naruto's house. The retired Hokage never failed to dote on his grandchildren, much to the chagrin of dad. Eriko would often consume 10 bowls of ramen to make up for the rest of the week.

More than that, Boruto possessed irrational fantasies and fears about them getting kidnapped.

"Your grandpas have many enemies. You're children of the Hokage. People will come after you all." Blah blah blah.

Eriko couldn't care less. She thought her dad was the most insufferable person in the entire world.

All he ever achieved was further fuelling her desire to rebel and do outrageous stuff. Pranks, fights, undone homework - they were all done out of spite.

At least until that fateful day when her whole class was kidnapped during a field trip near the border of the Land of Grass. The kidnapper was the head of a notorious local criminal gang, who wanted to extort money from Konoha's treasuries. He was delighted upon discovering that the Hokage's children were amongst the abducted.

Before that, Eriko had never felt fear her entire life, having been confined to a sheltered existence, pampered by her parents' prestigious status. Running away from her mother's assistants or academy instructors was, naturally, nothing compared to this. She could almost taste death. Her fellow students, her twin sister Asami included, were huddled together, hushed in terror.

"Now, now, who shall I kill first?" A man in a black mask taunted.

No response.

"Not a very brave bunch, are we?"

A bunch of nine-year-olds and a bunch of gangsters. What on earth did the masked moron expect?

She felt her sister's tight clutch.

"AHH-CHOOOO!"

Someone had sneezed, disrupting the silence. It was Kagami, that idiot who used to bully Asami all the time. What a waste of oxygen.

"Well, looks like we have a volunteer," chuckled the man with amusement.

"He sneezed, he did not speak, dumbass," Eriko quipped instinctively, briefly forgetting her perilous situation. "And for the record, your mask is awry. I can see your ugly pimples and acne."

Stunned gasps echoed throughout the room.

Whoops.

Asami looked at her in chastisement.

"Miss... Uzumaki. Would you like to go first then?"

"Nope." She trembled and backed away.

"Tough. You don't get a choice." The man held up a kunai and walked towards Eriko.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

Shitshitshitshitshit.

"Get the hell away from my daughter!"

A familiar voice. Slashing sounds. A decapitated head. Two decapitated heads. Three decapitated heads.

"Dad?!" Eriko blurted out in incredulity. She ran towards him and jumped into his arms, earning a few 'awws' and 'ahhs' from the crowd.

"Yes Eriko, it's me." Boruto gave her a gentle peck on the cheek. He turned around to face everyone else. "Alright, kiddos, you're all free."

"But the mafia boss?" Asami asked nervously.

"Tied up and soon to go to jail. Don't worry girl, I've sent a message to your mum and a group of jonin is on the way as we speak. I'm here to take you all back to safety!" Boruto said before turning around and breaking down the doors with flair.

"So cool!"

"Eriko! Your dad is awesome!"

"Can I have your dad please?"

"Man I wished my dad was like that!"

It was weird hearing the praise from her classmates all of a sudden. Usually, it was her mother Sarada that was the target of everyone's admiration. Eriko felt a sense of pride; she was proud to be Boruto's daughter. (There were also some weird ones like "Is it bad I find your dad extremely sexy in all that blood?")

Ignoring the eccentrics, Eriko grinned and agreed: "Yeah my dad's pretty cool!"

Indeed, no one messed with her family.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm writing this as I say goodbye to my good grades. Oh well, the fun was worth it! :D It's also rather therapeutic, I must admit.**


	5. A Dreamed Encounter

**A/N: Summer is here! I've got a few weeks before my summer job is due to start so I may linger around a bit longer.**

 **WARNING - If you have not read What Might Have Been, this chapter might come as a bit of a confusion so I'd strongly advise you to at least skim over parts of it.**

* * *

Boruto, in general, was an individual who was firmly grounded in the present, never dwelling on the past for too long. Granted, this probably stemmed from the fact that child-rearing and homemaking required one's constant attention, providing very little respite for prolonged contemplation. Anyhow, there were not very many things that Boruto needed to linger upon. So far in life, he had not had any major regrets. In fact, if he had been given the choice to relive his life to its current point, he would probably do things the exact same way. All in all, at the age of 37, Boruto considered himself a happy man with a wonderful wife and a wonderful family.

There were fleeting moments, however, when his mind returned to the strange days, weeks and months that his team spent in that alternate universe. It was certainly an odd experience. Everything was so different, so absurd and yet not impossible when one plunged into further reflection. The thoughts it provoked can be a little disconcerting at times. Imagining his father-in-law as a iron-fisted dictator ruling over the entire continent was weird, given Sasuke's contented grandfatherly attitude (except when Keisuke tries to dye his hair) and more measured optimism and wisdom, which contrasted with his counterpart's turbulent internal world and bleak cynicism. Boruto remembered how the man was plagued with power and the agony that came with it, plagued with the decisions and sacrifices he made, plagued with a certain calculated madness. Instability. Nevertheless, in spite of all Sasuke's flaws, Boruto cared about that man - and, gradually, that man came to care about him as well. They developed a bond, a profound relationship of recognition and understanding that made the world a better place.

He wondered how that Sasuke was doing now.

Their last encounter was shortly before the man embarked on a solitary exile from the terrestrial world. He had been condemned to wander amongst various planets and patches of existence, tasked by Sakura with searching, scouting and eradicated threats like Momoshiki and Kinshiki. It seemed like an awful fate, one that Boruto prayed no one else would ever be subjected to.

Boruto never really told his children about that particular episode of his life, not even when little Keisuke begged for more stories and he realised the depleted state of his creative juices. Neither did he share much detail with his other friends Shikadai, Denki, Iwabe, Inojin etc. He could never really put a finger on what was holding him back. Having Sarada and Mitsuki as well as his family (sans most of the Hyuuga clan, for obvious reasons of not wishing to traumatise aunt Hanabi and grandpa with the knowledge) for confiding was more than enough anyway.

It seemed so long ago and yet most details remained vividly lodged in his head.

He had dreams about it, dreams of all sorts of shapes and sizes. He dreamt that he was a member of Hi no Ishi, struggling through smoke and ash. He dreamt that he was Sasuke Uchiha, the Hokage, looking down at his dominion. He dreamt that he was Sakura, now a co-president of the newly established Republic, submerging himself in policy details. He dreamt that he was a random civilian, toasting to the Hokage's health. He dreamt that he was an industrialist building trains. He dreamt that he was a political prisoner. He dreamt that he was an orphan, whose parents had been taken away by the authorities. He dreamt.

And then one night he had a dream that he knew was special, unprecedented, far too real to be just a dream.

~X~

Stairs. A thousand steps downwards.

He rushed past an older vendor selling some big blue fruit. He broke up, rather apologetically, a kissing couple.

He was a little boy again, running through the streets at night. The buildings around him were decored with colourful lanterns and posters of casinos, harlots and intriguing substances.

Sekai no Hashi.

A stopping site, a suspended city between worlds. Cosmopolitan, vibrant, exciting and infested with what some may deem as decadence. (Boruto had a far more nonchalant attitude towards it all.) The sky was purple, green firecrackers sizzling through one's vision.

He was holding a scroll. It was very important - the old man had told him so. The dying old man - bleeding from all his knife wounds and burnt from his neck down - who had begged him to take it to the Wanderer.

("It could destroy millions of lives, even eradicate entire populations or species. Our melting pot of harmony is at risk of being disrupted and destroyed." The words were accompanied by an abundance of coughing. "It contains the final instructions to a recipe of a weapon. The Ravagers are after me, they tricked me into concocting this. Told me... never mind. Give this to the Wanderer. Only he can save us all, if his reputation is really as many claim. You'll find him in the Festival of Light, in a stall that serves a strange cuisine called ramen. Here, I'll give you the remains of my fortunes. Go! There is no time!")

They were closing up. If they did, he could kiss goodbye to ever returning to his mother and baby brother.

 _[Wait, what baby brother? Just how- ]_

His feet were laced with chakra, though the experience was draining. It was as if he had just figured out how to do this and his chakra supplies were woefully inadequate to support his abilities.

Kakko. His name was Kakko.

No.

It had to be something else. A flicker of doubt briefly flashed through his mind.

He looks to the left; he looks to the right.

He gazed into a puddle. His purple skin matched the skyline. His tuft of red hair fluttered in the wind.

His eyes were still as blue as ever.

 _[Just what was going on?]_

 _[No matter, there was a job to do. Just do it.]_

He had reached the ramen stall. He coughed, took a deep breath and belted out the words, "One bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen please!"

While the kindly creature - it appeared to be male, though its skin was green and it had three eyes and was considerably more petite that what the average human - made his ramen, his eyes surveyed the place, keeping a lookout for someone known as the Wanderer.

The Wanderer. He had heard stories about that mysterious man. His feats were legendary, or so Makko, ever the exaggerator and storyteller, said. He was able to single-handedly summon giant rocks from space and flatten mountains. He was able to revive the dead. He was able to conjure deadly black fire. He defeated the dragon that devoured children, who had previously lived below the plane of Sekai no Hashi. He rarely stayed at the same place for more than a moon, though Sekai no Hashi was an exception. He had been to places far and wide, possessing the ability to create portals. He used to be the Sovereign of a plane of existence, or so some insist. Most thought he was more myth than man.

There was a hooded individual who quietly ate on his own. Boruto elected to sit next to him.

"Sir," Boruto asked the kindly stall owner who had just handed him his food, "I was wondering, have you ever heard of someone called the Wanderer?"

There was a tense movement beside him. A slight shift.

"Well, they say he is here. But personally, in my opinion, he sounded more like a figure from an old wive's tale. Too... strange to be true. Perhaps he existed, perhaps he did not. I've certainly never met him," the owner mused on and on, "That's not to say I wouldn't want to."

"Consider that done then," the hooded figure said as he showed his face, giving both of them a small smile. "I'm afraid I don't look very impressive."

Purple eyes with concentric circles. A solemn expression. Some things never change.

Sasuke.

They had met before. Many years ago and many worlds away.

Boruto Uzumaki. He was Boruto Uzumaki when they met. Not little Kakko.

Who was Boruto?

[ _It is I.]_

He was no boy, not literally at least. He belonged to Konoha. Husband to the Hokage, loving father of four, distinguished retired jonin.

"Sasuke," he whispered.

The man turned towards him, sending him a look of perplexity. Then the eyes narrowed. Suspicion, caution, a calculation of threats, an assessment of actions. His hair was greying, wrinkles were forming in his skin, but he looked as sharp as ever.

"Have we met?" Sasuke gazed at him rather... pensively. Perhaps it had been ages since someone addressed him by his name.

Boruto - no Kakko ignored the question.

[ _The scroll. Give him the scroll. Don't forget._ ]

"This is for you," Boruto remarked while handing it over, "An old man wanted you to have this. Something about the Ravagers I guess. It sounded bad."

"I see," Sasuke replied in understanding. Then his expression quieted, as if plunging into deep thought. "It's about sowing seeds for a racial war isn't it? They're racial supremacists of a kind, I imagine. They want to displace the Sovereign's rule. Sorry, I'm not an expert on the affairs of Sekai no Hashi. I've been here about ... eleven times - none of them particularly lengthy stays."

"Man I'm no expert either. Politics makes my head hurt," Boruto said, instinctively scratching his head. He always hated it when Sarada discussed political intricacies at home. Something something the daimyo of the Land of Earth. Blah blah blah.

"Well, kid, I thought that cracks in Sekai no Hashi's racial harmony was pretty apparent, given the recent riots. No?" Sasuke asked, curious.

"What riots?"

"They happened two... three years ago?"

"I was younger then."

"Yes, it would be unfair of me to expect remembrance from you."

Silence.

"So... how are you doing?" Boruto found himself asking.

An enigmatic smile.

"Not too bad, not too good either."

"You like ramen?" Boruto tried to look for conversation.

"Not particularly, but it is so rare for me to find food that reminds me of home."

"Where are you from?"

"Earth. More specifically, this village, no city, called Konoha." Sasuke pointed to his old headband, the one with a scratch in the middle, the one that Boruto had given him years ago. "We're quite isolated from the rest of the worlds. Then again, so are the vast majority of the worlds. This place seems to be the exception, not the rule."

"I see."

"By the way, how did you come to know my name?"

[ _A dream. This was just a dream_. _There was no need to lie in dreams. No use in pretending._ ]

"My apologies," Sasuke quipped as he stood up and held the scroll, "I have a task to attend to at first. Don't worry about what you see."

He activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and set the scroll ablaze with black inferno. It was consumed within seconds.

"The flames of Amaterasu..." Boruto noted.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"That's not common knowledge here. You an avid reader?"

"Oh heck no. It's just... we have met before. We may have met before. I think."

"Very well."

"There's also people chasing me by the way. I managed to lose them for a bit but I don't know how far back they are."

A kunai flew near him. Boruto ducked.

"Your reflexes are not bad," Sasuke mused. "Sorry I just wanted to confirm something, a gut instinct perhaps."

"Boruto Uzumaki," Boruto said. "I... don't know why that name came up. Sorry, I'm being weird."

Sasuke smirked. "How many levels are there in Dinner Dash?"

"99," Boruto replied from memory. "It's dumb I know. No clue why they didn't make a level 100."

"Interesting."

"I think I'm dreaming. I'm not Kakko but I'm also Kakko. I'm Boruto but I'm also not Boruto."

"I... have no remedy for that I'm afraid. Then again, you have survived alternate dimensions, planes of existence, haven't you?"

"Heh. Yeah. Glad to see that you're not completely alone out here."

"I manage."

Angry voices.

"They're here," Sasuke said dully. "Excuse me."

"I can help," Boruto offered.

"No. You're chakra levels are already very low from excessive usage - when one takes into account your current state, that is. Boruto, I thought that after all these years you'd be a little more careful with yourself. I'll be back in a minute." He rushed out of the stall.

Screams of agony. Cries for help. Voices begging for mercy.

"Well that was quick," Boruto huffed as Sasuke returned.

The man shrugged. "They're not dead by the way, just incapacitated by a genjutsu. Law enforcement would arrive soon."

"Your task, this whole thing with the Ravagers, it isn't over is it?"

"Evidently not." Sasuke sighed as if he was used to similar conundrums.

"Everything's going well back home. I married Sarada, who is the current Hokage of Konoha. We have four kids so I'm basically a stay-at-home dad slash community organiser slash retired jonin at the moment. Just... wanted to give you some updates I suppose," Boruto explained in a slight divergence from their previous topic of conversation. He did not know whether this was the last time something like this could happen. "Also their names are Itachi, Eriko, Asami and Keisuke. They-"

"Itachi..." Sasuke said the name with a wisp of sadness.

"Yeah. Sarada named it after the uncle she never got to meet."

"And the rest of the kids, how are they?"

"Well, Itachi's the most well-behaved one. He's also a jonin now. Graduated top of his class. Eriko's a loud troublemaker, kinda like my dad I guess. She defaced the Hokage monument fifteen times. Asami's a bit quiet and shy, kind like my mum when she was little, according to dad. Keisuke is Keisuke. He can be quiet deceptively obedient. He replaced dad's ramen noodles with worms once."

Sasuke burst out laughing. "Now that sounds like an experience." Boruto wondered whether he was playing out imaginary scenarios of being the grandfather to these kids, brats or whatever one should call them.

"Yeah." Boruto grinned. "I plan on going back to work after though. Being too domestic has apparently made me an excellent nagger and control-freak, or so my sister says."

Sasuke's lips quivered with amusement. "That must be something to witness."

"Yeah," Boruto answered before saying, "This is really really weird. Am I like possessing a kid's body or what?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You tell me. There are some mysteries of the world that I will never know."

Sirens blazed outside as footsteps came closer and closer.

"The police are here, Boruto. I'm going to tell them what happened. You, meanwhile, are going to head back home with that cash. Best not traumatize the boy's mother."

"But I have no idea how to."

"I'm sure you'll find a way." A smile. This time, unlike their past encounters, it was not laced with pain or anger or fear or guilt. It was genuine and content too. Strange that the words content should be associated with the man in front of him. "Farewell."

"Bye." He got up from his seat and made his way through the streets.

When he reached the next corner, his world went black.

~X~

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! You promised me you'd take me to watch a movie!" 8-year-old Keisuke was jumping all over his bed.

"Dad! You promised us!" Eriko lunged onto the bed as well and crashed into him.

Asami smiled rather apologetically at the door.

Boruto got up and stretched himself. "Very well then, a movie it is."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys liked this!**

 **Did Boruto and Sasuke really meet? Or was it only in Boruto's dream?**

 **I honestly don't know what exactly inspired this chapter. There are touches of fantasy and ambiguity here and there I suppose. I've always wanted to explore the implications of dreams and how they interact with reality.**

 **What really happened?** **What did you guys think of this?**

 **Please leave your thoughts and comments in the review! It would mean the world to me!**


	6. The Trouble With Ramen Is

**A/N: Summer job is a lot more time-consuming than I would expect. Still, I managed this!**

* * *

"Gwanpa!" Keisuke yelled as he jumped onto Naruto, recently retired Hokage, and pulled his hair. "Lemmedyeyourhair!"

"Say what?!" Naruto asked as he struggled to discern the boy's words, courtesy of being stuffed with chips.

"Purple!" Keisuke's pudge finger pointed towards Naruto's blond hair. "Purple!"

Gawking, Naruto finally understood what the kid meant and gasped in horror, "No!"

Keisuke's arms folded and his lips pouted. "Bad gwanpa!"

"No, no, no! My hair, my choice! Bad Keisuke!"

"Bad gwanpa!"

"Bad Keisuke!"

"Bad gwanpaaaaaaaaa!" Keisuke started screaming and crying, tossing his toy dinosaur out of the window. He then started jumping up and down, stamping his feet.

The door slammed open. "Is he giving you any trouble?" Boruto walked in and picked Keisuke up, who was struggling to break free and still in tears.

"Eh. No, we're having fun!" Naruto's grin switched on.

"You can drop the pretensions, old man. This kid is worth ten kids' trouble," Boruto quipped with a chuckle. "Come on Keisuke, we're going home," he whispered in the boy's ear, "Say sorry and goodbye to grandpa."

"Sowee and gubbye..." Keisuke muttered, not making eye contact with Naruto.

"Hey! It's okay kiddo!" Naruto replied with an easy smile. "I'll teach you how to make ramen next time!"

"Dad no!" Boruto said in horror.

"Ramen!" Keisuke squeaked.

"Look at what you've done," Boruto remarked with exasperation. Naruto simply ruffled his hair in content.

~X~

There were times when your parents did not help much with your own parenting. Tragic stuff. His children's grandparents, mostly Naruto Uzumaki, have elected to spoil the children rotten, defying Boruto's ban on ramen in the house, buying them all sorts of disgustingly unhealthy snacks, letting them run riot and even going the extra step to suggest pranking ideas.

Boruto sighed as he contemplated how Keisuke and Eriko foiled his ramen ban in the house time and time again. No matter what he said ("It's super unhealthy!", "You'll get really fat and ugly!", "It's made of disgusting chemicals!" or "You will die early!") or what he did (which involved throwing away every single pot of instant ramen he could find in the house, Sarada's included, banning everyone from going to Ichiraku and lecturing his father and sister on clandestine ramen giveaways), nothing seemed to work.

Oh, the woes a house-husband must suffer! All of a sudden, Boruto's sympathies for his own mother increased a hundred-fold. Granted, neither he nor Himawari was as uncontrollable as his own children, but still. He was seriously looking forward to going back to work.

"Boruto, I'm home!" Sarada's cheerful voice wrestled him out of his reverie. She took off her coat and slung it near the coat-rack.

"Sarada!" Boruto ran towards her and lifted her up, spinning her around with a grin plastered across his face.

"Mummy!" Little Keisuke came out of the playroom, his toy dinosaur still in hand, and hugged her. "I want ramen!"

"I let dad babysit him for a while because I needed to buy the groceries. Unfortunately, he may have exposed Keisuke to the dastardly cuisine that is ramen," Boruto explained exasperatedly.

Sarada snorted. "You and your disdain for ramen. Ease up! It was Lord Seventh's favourite food after all."

"But we are not taking Keisuke to Ichiraku's. Not Keisuke, nor Eriko, nor Asami, nor Itachi. This household is ramen free!"

Sarada rolled her eyes. Boruto glared at her as if silently pleading at her to not rebut his statements in front of Keisuke. "Ugh, fine. Moron."

"Hey!"

"Moron!" Keisuke piped after Sarada.

"Aw now look what you've done Sarada! You're teaching our son foul language!"

"Boruto, if you think the word 'moron' constitutes foul language then you haven't really seen anything," Sarada said while smirking.

"Okay, you know what I mean!"

"M'kay..."

"Sarada!"

Keisuke was watching his parents bicker with delight. In his view, dad was getting owned by mum.

~X~

Eriko resented the fact that Boruto simply would not let her eat ramen. It was totally ridiculous! He gave all sorts of bad excuses, like how ramen was unhealthy, like how ramen would make her die younger (as if she was that stupid - she was eight dammit!) and like how no boys would like her if she grew ugly because of ramen. (Grandpa Naruto looked just fine!)

Her first encounter with the heavenly cuisine that is ramen came during her best friend Kizumi's birthday, where they all took a trip to Ichiraku ramen. It was there and then that she slurped the noodles out of a tonkotsu broth and fell in love. She was puzzled at first, wondering just how come her parents never took her here in the past. Then when she returned home and told them about Ichiraku Ramen, her dad was mildly irritated. Rolling his eyes, he called it junk food and disgusting, which offended her. Her mother rolled her eyes at her father and told him to stop being a moron.

Since then, Boruto had embarked on a mission to prevent her from eating ramen at all costs. Okay maybe not. He permitted it once in a while, especially after hours of begging or when mother was there while she begged. Then there's the fact that grandpa Naruto or aunt Himawari were more than willing to take here to Ichiraku's or make her instant ramen.

But still, Boruto's control over ramen was tyrannical! Eriko huffed and puffed as she thought about it. He was behaving like an awful dictator and someone needed to stop his overreach!

That naturally meant that Eriko needed allies in this task. Out of her siblings, Asami was too docile and nice to disobey her father and Itachi never cared much for ramen. That left little Keisuke, still a 4-year-old, as her only possible option, which may not sound like a lot but her little brother could be a force of fury (and trouble) when he tried to. Additionally, Eriko speculated that mother may be sympathetic to her cause. True, mother was usually busy as Hokage and never cared enough for her ramen rights to conduct any significant intervention, but given the right circumstances, Sarada could be swung over. Aunt Himawari and grandpa Naruto are most definitely affiliates, yet Eriko was not too sure about their scope of influence. Her other grandpa, Sasuke Uchiha, was no big fan of ramen.

Furthermore, Eriko was sure her best friends Kizumi and Jun would be more than happy to help. Their parents were good friends with her parents and that must mean something. If anything, they were backup sources of ramen in case her plan didn't work out.

Drawing and mapping all of this on a piece of paper, Eriko plotted to overthrow Boruto's totalitarian grip over the house. She was getting there.

~X~

It was three in the afternoon on a Saturday. Sarada was still at work. Eriko and Keisuke were playing dinosaur again, with the former pretending to be a T-rex and the latter a pterodactyl, flapping his arms. Asami sat in the corner playing dolls with a friend from the Academy. Itachi sat on a table doing homework, asking Boruto questions from time to time.

Boruto gazed at his children fondly. They were truly the light and joy of his life. Little did he know, however, that Eriko was formulating a plan in her head when she tackled Keisuke to the ground and then pulled him to Asami and her friend.

~X~

"Keisuke, do you want ramen?" Eriko asked.

"Ramen!" Keisuke piped up.

"Asami?" She turned around to her sister.

"I... think I'll pass. I'm not a fan, sorry," Asami said.

"Aw man! Okay then. Keisuke, looks like it's just you and me. Dad is denying us the fundamental right of eating ramen and we have had enough!" She whispered indignantly into his ear as he nodded fervently. "We are going to do something about this!"

"Make ramen!"

"What? How do we do that?"

"You make ramen!"

"What kind of demand is that?! You know I don't cook - Asami is the one here who helps with dad the most. Her and Itachi, but Itachi always sides with dad." Eriko turned around and asked her sister again. "So, Asami, wanna help us cook ramen one day?"

"Why?"

"Because it tastes good! Very good! Pleaaasseeeeeeeeeee... Asami please..."

"But dad-"

"Don't worry! We'll cook ramen when mum and grandad are both in the house! I've got it all planned out!" Eriko cackled maniacally before realising she was acting a bit weird.

~X~

Being married to your dad's best friend's daughter does make family reunions much easier - and much more fun and much less awkward. Yet little did Boruto know that an ideological fissure was about to erupt within the household.

Eriko, Asami and Keisuke had insisted - _begged_ \- him and Sarada to let them handle the food. After much protesting by Boruto, for he had reservations about their culinary abilities, Sarada managed to convince him to let them do their part. It was a reluctant concession.

Both his father and former master were, technically speaking, retired men who elected to spend the rest of their lives in peace and tranquility after a life of vicissitudes. In theory. In practice, Sasuke Uchiha still gave off an air of somberness and seriousness, taking a seat on the Konoha High Council and constantly communicating with various officials serving under Sarada. Naruto Uzumaki, moreover, was a consistent source of advice for Sarada, another member of the Konoha High Council, and Boruto lost count of the number of when Naruto met with his wife.

Unfortunately, this meant that family reunions _can_ take a dry turn and degenerate into dreary conversations regarding politics. Boruto absolutely loathed them, going so far as to ban them from the dinner table. Sarada was, no doubt, an intelligent woman and genuinely passionate about whatever fishing cooperation in whatever treaty Konoha had signed with the Sea People's beyond the islands of the Land of Water, but the rest of the family were practically dosing off and silently hoping it would all stop. Oh no, in fact, Itachi was probably the only one who could recount Sarada's words when all was said and done.

Anyhow, at present, his wife, Naruto, and Sasuke were debating on the merits of the recent Dark Mountain Compromise. Thankfully, it was a topic that was not too dull.

Recently, due to the relative peace and security on the continent, there was a dearth of regular missions for Konoha to do, which would dampened the village's revenue and income. (Even though Konoha's economy was diversifying to other outlets, shinobi missions were still a major source.) Sarada Uchiha, after hours of consultation with her advisors and eons of contemplation, decided to significantly expand Konoha's range of operations by launching exploration task forces beyond the Eastern Sea, way past the Land of Water. There, Konoha found various trading opportunities with new peoples, villages, cities, kingdoms - and many sources of mission contracts in the form of security guards, escorts, assassinations and more.

Yet when the money started pouring in, trouble inevitably came. Whilst the Gokage on the Continent, owing to the ties made during the Fourth Shinobi War and a common desire for peace, maintained the will for good relations, the same cannot be said for their daimyos, who were starting to make somewhat belligerent demands. The daimyo fo the Land of Water was very much displeased at Konoha's successes and urged the Mizukage, Kagura, to pick a fight with Konoha, citing the right of his country to monopolize all operations on the sea and beyond. Not wanting to disrespect him, Kagura reluctantly launched a taskforce to scout for opportunities beyond the Eastern Sea and to forge relations with the Sea Peoples. Small skirmishes arose here and there between Konoha and Kiri in the Dark Mountain, a crucial location in the Land Beyond the Sea, an intersection between various important cities, raising fears that the Continent was on the brink of another war. Unwilling to break the precious peace her predecessor helped forge and also unwilling to economically disadvantage Konoha, Sarada and Kagura sat down and negotiated a middle ground. Kirigakure would pull out its missions and trading operations east of the Dark Mountain, while Konoha would do so for the west. It was a delicate, but nonetheless relatively durable balance.

Naruto argued that potential for conflict could arise, especially Kumo or Iwa's interests arose, and it was best if Konoha scaled down its overseas operations in general. Sasuke was more pragmatic, saying that times are changing and that although peace was important, Konoha had to find other economic outlets to prevent a slowdown and further unrests fomenting. Both had a point, in Boruto's view, something which Sakura agreed after pointing out that skirmishes never reached a dire level. And it seemed that Sarada shared his opinions.

In fact, it was one of the few occasions during which Boruto was engrossed in conversations regarding political/ geopolitical affairs (for they were usually so dreary), so much so that he never bothered to go check up on Eriko, Asami and Keisuke in the kitchen, reassured by the fact that they were helped by his very earnest mother. Neither did Itachi, for the matter, who was listening attentively and taking mental notes.

Only when Eriko walked in carrying a bowl of stinking, disgusting tonkotsu ramen did Boruto realise what diabolical plan he had fallen for. Naruto fist-bumped her and they both grinned.

"Yes, uncle Naruto, I think managing the daimyo's expectations is key. While not a particularly hawkish person himself, he suffers from profound insecurity regarding the stances of other daimyos. He fears that they will -"

"NO!" Boruto shouted, interrupting his wife and throwing his hands up in the air. "Eriko, just what have you done?!"

Keisuke trotted behind her, carrying two more bowls and placing them in front of Sakura and him.

"WHY?!"

Asami walked in and served ramen to her two grandfathers, smiling rather apprehensively, well aware that they were sitting on top of a volcano.

As Hinata brought in the remaining bowls of ramen, Boruto rolled his eyes and sunk into his chair in despair. "I should have seen this coming."

"Oh come on son! Be a little more grateful to your kids. Think of how hard they worked to make this meal!" Naruto chided him.

"But ramen is a vile dish-"

"Boruto..." Sarada glared at him. "Say one more bad thing about this dish and I will make you regret it," Sarada chided him, as if daring him to mouth a word of complaint.

"Well, though I am no fan of ramen, I must say that your reaction is a little overboard," Sasuke said. "The kids deserve some appreciation."

"Anyways, let us enjoy this meal!" Naruto declared, overjoyed. "Brighten up, Boruto!"

Well, now he felt like a shitty person. He groaned internally. "Well, thank you, Eriko, Asami, Keisuke and mum. Thanks a lot."

Eriko, meanwhile, rejoiced internally. Eriko 1, Boruto 0. They had scored a small but crucial victory over her father's tyrannical ramen ban. Years later, this would be seen as the flame that lit the fire of the rebellion and -

"EW! A piece of hair!" Keisuke's face contorted in discomfort. "It's yours Eriko. Gross!"

Maybe her skills could do with some improvement.

"Maybe I should make it next time," Boruto chuckled a little. "Ramen with carrots, cabbage and broccoli. Yes, that does sound like a good recipe for dinner."

Oops.

Let the ramen wars commence.

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 **A/N: Please leave your thoughts and comments in the reviews!**


	7. No Man's Land

**A/N: For some reason, this got way out of hand and had to be split into three parts :P (I'm currently working through the final touches of Part 2, which will be out in a week or so.) I couldn't stop writing so here I am!**

 **Note: this is a semi-continuation of What Might Have Been so if you're confused, then the story there is your reference point. That being said, there's enough events and contents that it's a standalone story. It's also a continuation of chapter 5.**

* * *

It was two years since that strange dream and, in all honesty, Boruto had not given it much thought. After all, sometimes dreams were just dreams and there was no real point in pondering on them for too long. Moreover, he had maintained the opinion, after hours of impassioned debate with Wasabi and Namida, that psychoanalytic dream interpreters were trashy frauds hell-bent on exploiting irrational fears and insecurities of bored middle-aged housewives (or house-husbands) for money. A slightly out of the ordinary encounter, possibly sliced out of a particularly potent past memory, was nothing worth worrying about. And so, pushing all doubts to the back of his head, convincing himself that all the kerfuffle about Sekai no Hashi (the inspiration probably came from riding trains with Sarada to the Gokage summit in the Land of Iron, yes it had to be) was nothing but nonsense. It had all been a dream, a meaningless trance.

It worked, more or less. Even if his doubts weren't completely wiped out, looking after his kids took up enough time to banish any prolonged contemplations.

Asami and Eriko were recently made genin. The former was placed on a team with Kagami (that awful boy) and Teuchi (someone must have loved ramen more than his father) and Sumire (whose children were, by that time, old enough to allow her to return to work) as their sensei, whilst the latter was placed with her best friend Kizumi and a party boy named Sake (people were most definitely getting creative with names) and under a sensei by the name of Kichirou (who was reportedly an amateur poet with an avid devotion to rivers and lakes and the sea.) Eriko had already completed a C-ranked mission and Asami was about to embark on her first in a day.

Itachi, in the meantime, 17 years of age, was already promoted to a jonin after a string of successful missions and ardent recommendations. During an unfortunate ambush as a chunin, he witnessed the death of a very dear friend and awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. It was not a pleasant affair, for it was always heart-wrenching to see your loved ones die. After mustering the will to complete the mission - and being one of the three people to survive in a unit that was originally a dozen strong - Itachi immediately ran to his parents and, for the first time in ages, bawled like a helpless child. Boruto and Sarada, who had her share of the experience of loss back when Boruto 'died' in that other world and in the numerous times when she lost shinobi and kunoichi she cared about in various missions, made sure that they were there for him. He was always the most independent one out of the kids, never needing much attention, always on top of everything and even moving out of their house with 5 other friends a year ago - granted, he was also the oldest - but there were exceptional circumstances for everyone and Boruto understood that. Sarada even allowed Itachi to take a month's break to recuperate. His friends, bless them, also did their job in supporting him. Ultimately, the worst ended and Itachi resumed his usual composed, reservedly cheerful self. Word said that he had gotten himself a girlfriend.

Keisuke was now 10 years old, in the waning years of the Academy and still as mischevious and rambunctious as ever. He had, probably, if Boruto's suspicions were correct, defaced the Hokage monument, painting on the faces of his grandpa, great-grandpa and mother, drawing buck-teeth on Kakashi's mask, making Hashirama and Tobirama Senju look like drag queens and writing 'big tits' on Tsunade's forehead, which the old woman did not appreciate. And no punishment was sufficient enough to deter the kid to re-offend again. Granted, Keisuke was particularly good at not getting caught (the blame for Tsunade's statue was pinned on a fellow classmate, for example) maintaining a goody-two-shoes facade, only showing his true troublesome nature to his family and close friends. Shino-sensei reported to Boruto, during parents evening, that the kid was nothing like his sister Eriko. He topped the class, cleaned the room at the end of the day (more like using it as an opportunity to set up booby traps) and always spoke politely to the teachers. A load of horse-shit. Apparently, the boy was also quite good-looking, in the eyes of his female classmates, much like his maternal grandfather back in the day. Unlike Sasuke Uchiha, Keisuke Uchiha-Uzumaki had no qualms with their affections, often leveraging it to find extra prank mates because why not.

As frustrating as they were at times, his children made him swell with pride. They were his children, not anyone else's - and they've already come so far and they will go even further in life. The next generation always surpasses the current generation. Mostly, their morals were largely in the right place, barring flashes of mischief and delinquency here and there. Even Keisuke knew how to stand up to bullies, once coming to the rescue of a rather nerdy and skinny friend of his (Denki's kid) and telling three kids who were older and bigger and stronger to go away. When the boy walked home with a gigantic black eye, albeit also a wide smile on his face after managing to eventually dangle the three from a tree with a pranking string, Boruto gave him a fist bump and a hug.

~X~

"Dad! Asami is leaving soon!" Keisuke woke Boruto up, shaking his bed 5 in the morning.

The man got up, cursed, and briefly wondered just how the boy had managed to get up when the sky was still dark, but as soon as reality hit, he rushed downstairs to send his daughter away.

"Dad, I'll be fine, don't worry," Asami said, giggling. Perhaps she was amused at just how concerned he looked. "It's only a C-ranked mission and Eriko completed one already. I'll be fine."

"I don't like that boy in your time," Boruto groaned, shaking his head. "I'm not sure how I feel about you being away for five days."

"He's fine... Kagami and I get along well these days. And besides, Sumire is a really good sensei and she'll make sure nothing goes wrong," Asami explained calmly.

"How well?"

Asami sighed. Out of all the things, Boruto had to focus on Kagami.

"Pretty well."

"Oh no-"

"It's not like that, dad. Really, is that what you're most concerned about?"

"Just kidding!" Boruto gave her a wide, forced smile and a hug. He made a mental note to interrogate her when she comes back. "Good luck!"

Shutting the door, Boruto decided to go back to bed, where his wife was still sleeping soundly, owing to the fact that she had worked until 2. He needed some rest, most definitely. Keisuke was unlikely to go to bed immediately, given his hyperactive state, but Boruto trusted the boy to stay quiet enough to avoid disturbing him and Sarada.

It was strange that out of all his children, Keisuke was now the only one in the house. Eriko was at a sleepover with Jun, Itachi had already moved out and now Asami was on her first overnight mission. All of a sudden, Boruto wondered just how it would be when all of his kids were grown up and no longer needed his incessant care, when they no longer needed his homework help, when they no longer needed him to make them (healthy) lunch, when they all moved into their own homes and lived more independent lives, when he could finally return to work and resume his official shinobi career. It would be a massive emotional adjustment, needless to say. Just the thought of it made Boruto feel a little sad and, as to why, he could not come up with a cogent explanation.

~X~

Keisuke was sitting alone in the common room. It was still dark outside and both his parents were sound asleep. He was feeling, in all honesty, rather bored and lonely, which he rarely ever felt.

It was weird being up so early; Keisuke would very much like to go back to sleep. Yet he could not do it. Recently, Keisuke had found it much harder to fall asleep - it was as if he had contracted insomnia, but not really. It was mainly the fact that he would get glimpses of weird visions whenever his eyes shut.

A thousand steps. Red lanterns scurrying across the purple sky. Purple sky. Delicious blue fruit. Sizzling green firecrackers. Explosions everywhere. Blinding white light. Screams. Cries for help. Blood. Maniacal laughing. A hooded figure hushing him up. And then silence.

It was always the same strange visions and Keisuke was sick of them. It had been a week since they started. He wished they would go away, but they just won't. Keisuke wouldn't say that he was afraid, just incredibly frustrated.

Okay, maybe he was a little apprehensive. Having the same dream for seven consecutive nights was definitely not normal. Still, what could he do? Whenever Keisuke tried to bring it up to his parents, he fell short of words, became struck by an inexplicable mental block. It was as if some supernatural force was deliberately preventing him from saying what needed to be said.

His siblings were gone from the house too. Granted, Eriko would be back tomorrow and Itachi did not live too far away with his buddies, but still. As of now, the present, there was no one for him to talk to.

Stretching his feet across the sofa, Keisuke sighed and yawned. He wasn't not tired, no, not at all. He had plenty of time to kill, plenty of time to wander around the house and plan his next prank for the day! Oh yes, that would take quite the time. That would be very nice.

Then, tomorrow, he would speak to Eriko when she returned. Out of all his siblings, she was the one he was closest to. Itachi was ever the responsible brother, but he was seven years older. Asami had her moments of fun, yet she was quite tame most of the time. Personality-wise, Eriko and Keisuke were most similar and compatible. She was always willing to join him in his pranks - like finally dying grandpa Naruto's hair blue when he dozed off in the afternoon - albeit not always the most subtle person. Both of them had a mischevious streak, yet Eriko was all out in the open, while Keisuke preferred to be a little more sneaky. Dealing with angry adults was far too troublesome. Anyhow, she would definitely see his sleep-deprived state and conclude that something was wrong.

He was feeling rather tired. Maybe he would just curl up on the sofa and forgo all the pranking planning after all.

~X~

"Boruto..." Sarada murmured when it was 7 in the morning.

"Sarada, it's 7 in the morning..." Boruto responded, turning towards her.

"Have you checked on Keisuke...?"

"Go back to sleep, it's still 7..." Boruto moaned.

"Mmmm..."

She was barely awake and Boruto, too, was fighting against his eyelids from crashing down.

That she looked absolutely gorgeous when sleeping was the first thing that occurred to Boruto's mind. The second thing was that he should probably check on Keisuke sometime next hour. The third thing was that he really wanted to go back to sleep. The fourth thing was that he really, really wanted to have some fun with Sarada once she was properly awake. Preferably if Keisuke falls sound asleep, but otherwise, Boruto was sure Mitsuki would be happy to take care of the boy for a while.

It wasn't every day when it was just them.

~X~

Keisuke awoke to the smell of bacon and the sound of pans frying. It was a Sunday noon - the only day of the week when mother took a break from work - and both of his parents were cooking brunch. It was rather nice, filling him with a sense of warmth as he continued to snuggle on the coach.

"I'm home!" Eriko bellowed as she ran towards them, crashing onto Keisuke.

"Eriko! Your brother is still sleeping!" Sarada chided.

"It's okay," Keisuke said groggily as he shook his head and pushed his sister away, "I'm awake anyway."

"Your mother and I have made you guys bacon and egg sandwiches!" Boruto announced.

"Yum yum yum! I love those!" Eriko grinned and jumped into her father's arms.

"We also made some chocolate cake for later in the day," Sarada said, smiling. "I also brought back some prawn crisps from a work trip. I'm sure you guys will like it!"

His mother looked radiant, Keisuke thought, like a little bit of rest had completely refreshed her. She was usually rather stressed.

"I love chocolate!" Eriko declared. "Oh and, mum and dad, can I take Keisuke to Itachi's place later in the day? They're making hotpot in their place and Itachi's already asked us if we wanted to come."

Boruto and Sarada looked at each other, then back at Eriko and Keisuke, then back at each other again. Boruto hid a barely concealed smirk and said, "Why, of course! Your mother and I will have a lot of fun tonight, just the two of us."

Sarada gave her husband a slight dig. None of the two kids really understood what it meant.

Sunday family brunches were always Keisuke's favorite. As the family laughed together and as Eriko recounted stories from last night, Keisuke's woes faded into the background.

~X~

Itachi Uchiha-Uzumaki scrubbed the tables for the seventh time this week as Kenji yawned and apologized for the umpteenth time. His friend was still positively inebriated from an ill-conceived 4 am escapade with his girlfriend.

" 'Tachi... I'm so, so, so sorry! I'll help next time... Man 'Tachi... I love you so much!" The guy then walked up to Itachi and enveloped Itachi in a bone-crushing hug. "You are the most amazing flatmate ever. Seriously, I would totally date you if I was into men!"

Mildly embarrassed, Itachi gave Kenji a polite nod and continued cleaning up their place. Kenji, though worlds apart with him in terms of personality, had been his best friend ever since the Academy. Itachi would do anything (okay maybe not anything) for him; this was no large matter.

Out of the five - formerly six - inhabitants of their flat, Itachi was definitely one of the more responsible ones. Hana, the only girl of the group, was fairly good at tidying up after herself but lacked the patience to deal with Kenji and Riku's filthy party-goer antics. Sora had recently quit being a shinobi, embarking on a musical career as a professional saxophonist after deciding that missions bored him (something Itachi could never understand) and was rarely ever back home, often spending the night out at some jazz club, even though he did assist Itachi whenever he could. Yuuto was... gone. It was a painful experience to lose him, the mourning was difficult, but Itachi had finally come to terms with it. According to his father, the dead did not simply disappear but left for another plane of existence. Boruto Uzumaki, backed by his mother, insisted that he had died and come back to life and seen it all. Perhaps Yuuto was there too, having a good time.

His siblings were coming over tonight for hotpot and Itachi was feeling pretty excited. Ever since moving out, Itachi hadn't spent as much time with them as before. He missed them. Eriko, much like Kenji actually, always lit up the room she was in with her loud mouth. Keisuke can be quite funny too, albeit rather naughty. Riku and Hana insisted that Itachi was just being overly suspicious and that his younger brother was a perfectly behaved, cute, adorable little child.

"Rise and shine Riku!" Hana bellowed as she dragged Riku into the common room. "The sun is high in the sky and you are as high as a kite!"

"Riku, whatever you are smoking, just don't do it here... please?" Itachi asked politely. "My siblings are coming over tonight and, you know, maybe they shouldn't get exposed to-"

"No worries Itachi! I do it in my room alone! Don't worry Itachi! Heck, I won't even do it tonight!" Riku responded enthusiastically. "I'll also make matcha tiramisu for them! Matcha tiramisu!"

Riku had always liked Itachi's siblings. Being an only child himself, Itachi suspected he was also rather envious. Either way, he loved doting on Asami, Eriko and Keisuke. Once, he took them to a games arcade with Itachi and paid for all of them as if it were nothing.

"I hear Sora's not doing anything tonight too! His jazz gig got moved to next Friday and we might even get him to play for us," Hana said as she grinned. "Yoko and I are watching him play next Friday. You should take Suzumi with you. It'll be a nice double-date."

"Sure thing. I mean, I don't really have anything to do on Friday." Itachi shrugged as he dusted off the curtains. He was almost done with the chores

"Yo Itachi! The mail is here and there's one for you!" Keisuke spun around and delivered a letter to Itachi.

It was marked with a sign of the Hokage's office, though Itachi suspected that the letter itself was written and commissioned by more lower-level officials. His mother, in all likelihood, probably never saw it. Excitement pumped through him as he speculated about its contents.

"I got promoted!" He gasped. "I'm going to be made a special jonin!"

"YESSSSSS!" Kenji, still drunk as hell, embraced Itachi tightly. Riku and Hana then piled onto both of them.

"I always know you'd make it, Itachi," Riku said. "You're definitely as good as some of the special jonins out there. Oh man, when are you going to have your own little genins running around?"

"A while later... I suspect..." Itachi coughed, trying to break free.

"Now we're definitely going on that double date with our girlfriends," Hana remarked, ecstatic. "And I'll tell Sora to play some extra celebratory music tonight when he comes back."

"I'm coming!" Kenji declared.

"Me too! Leaving without us... hmphhh!" Riku concurred.

Itachi laughed as Hana shook her head in disapproval.

~X~

Shrieks penetrated the air. A woman calling, calling a name she could not recognize.

She dodged green firecrackers (green firecrackers?) and scuttled all the way to the nearest tavern.

"What's the matter, little boy?" A wizened old man (was he a man?) grinned at her through crooked teeth.

I'm not a boy, she was just about to say, but frowned. Maybe she was a boy now. Something wasn't right.

"Well?" The old man asked.

"I- I'm sorry for disturbing you..." She started stuttering. It was nerve wrecking, talking to strangers. She wasn't her sister, nor her brothers. She never felt completely comfortable talking to someone unless she really got to know them.

"Little kids shouldn't be around this area. It's where all the bad stuff happens," he whispered menacingly.

"Kakko? Where are you? Kakko?! KAKKO!" A woman rushed in. Purple skin, sandy red hair tied into a bun. She picked him up and apologized to the old man.

"That your boy?"

"Yes. Kakko has been a bit of a naughty kid. Say sorry Kakko."

"Sorry."

Darkness hit.

An ancient, characterless, dull, dead voice whispering.

 _The time has come. When Sekai no Hashi is breached and destroyed, the fabric of this reality will be torn and worlds will collapse onto themselves. This dimension cannot handle it alone. It must poach its heroes from elsewhere._

"What?" She murmured in a weak voice. She had absolutely no idea what was going on. She was, after all, only Asami Uchiha-Uzumaki.

 _Oh no, it won't be you, child. You are merely the seer, the messenger._

"ASAMI!" Kagami's voice jostled her awake.

It was the middle of the day. A day after she first embarked on her C-rank mission. They were assigned to the Land of Grass as escorts for a daughter of a minor aristocrat. There were no serious, life-threatening threats by the look so far. Nonetheless, Sumire-sensei had reminded everyone to remain vigilant.

Asami had no idea what just happened.

"You fainted," Kagami explained. "It might be the heat, who knows? You looked pretty bad. Here, have some water." He gave her his water bottle.

"Strange," Asami said. "I saw things."

"What, like psychedelic visions?" Kagami frowned.

"Yeah." Asami nodded. "Something something Sekai no Hashi? And something really weird about the fabric of reality and dimensions. I don't know."

Kagami laughed. "You're such an interesting girl. I mean, if it really bothers you, talk to Sumire-sensei about it? She might know a thing or two."

Asami sighed. "Maybe it's nothing after all."

"Better stay on the safe side of things," said Kagami. "You know what, I'll accompany you to her. Teuchi and her are escorting the client, who's currently going on a bit of a shopping spree at a mall nearby."

"Oh," Asami remarked. "And you?"

"Someone had to stay behind to see that you were fine. And for a while, I thought you were fine. Then your eyes were open and blank, there were strange veins fusing with your sharingan, and you were shaking a lot. So I woke you up," Kagami recounted. "Your welcome." He winked.

"Let's go find Sumire-sensei then," Asami said as she got up. "The mission must go on. And thank you, Kagami. You really didn't... it was very kind of you."

"My pleasure."

~X~

Mitsuki is your regular cool, still single, godfather that gradually evolved into the go-to babysitter for your parents. Kakashi would be the other one.

Mitsuki lived in a pretty awesome place, Keisuke thought. There were heaps and heaps of video games. Also, Mitsuki didn't mind buying junk food, chips and fries abound. Coming from the Uchiha-Uzumaki household, where friend stuff was banned, Keisuke really appreciated them.

At the moment, they were playing Jump!, a game that involved two rabbits that needed to hop around an obstacle course whilst collecting points. It was a narrow scoreboard, with Keisuke possessing the slight edge.

"You're beating me," Mitsuki remarked with a chuckle, "You'd be giving your dad a run for his money."

"I beat him last time. Him, Eriko and Itachi," Keisuke mentioned with slight pride. Sure, it was just video games, a virtual example of success and something not translated into concrete material reality, but still. It felt nice to win.

Sometimes, Keisuke would experience bouts of insecurity. After all, all his siblings were talented people, especially Itachi, who was just doing ridiculously well, being a new special jonin and all. All of them, in Keisuke's opinion, had tried hard and overcame personal flaws or external obstacles. They achieved things. Their existence was purposeful, with Itachi as the responsible one, Asami as the caring and considerate one and Eriko was the fun and hyperactive one. Next to them, Keisuke felt a bit redundant - like his parents had him as an afterthought. (He winced and chided himself for that view. His parents loved him so much and gave him so much in life.) Still, he would ask himself from time to time, just what was his purpose?

Sure, he was good at being sneaky at times, pulling pranks and not getting caught. He even put up a facade of being a (relatively) good student. Still, being able to lie and deceive and being a troublesome kid really wasn't something to brag about. Keisuke knew that much. He wasn't really bad at anything, per se. Yet, too often, he felt like a jack of all trades and master of none.

It was weird that he should feel all of this. By all aspects, he should be more than content with a comfortable life as the youngest son of the current Hokage. He knew his feelings were petty and stupid - that's why he never said anything.

"Keisuke!" Mitsuki interrupted his stream of thoughts. "I'm going out to buy lunch for us. What are your preferences?"

"Hmm... fried chicken," Keisuke finally decided. "With red chilly pepper. And a strawberry milkshake."

"Looking to make the best you can with me?" Mitsuki laughed.

Keisuke grinned and gave a thumbs up.

When Mitsuki had left, Keisuke stretched himself and got up. He always liked wandering around Mitsuki's place. It was a nice, minimalist, flat. Plain colours were abound. It had a great library too, which contained shelves and shelves of books - a lot of them confidential and, erm, unsavoury too - that he somehow forgot to hide from plain sight, something Sarada would never permit

Sliding open the doors, Keisuke entered the place and gazed at the shelves with wonder. It sounded weird, something he would never admit to anyone, but he loved the smell of books. They elicited a certain excitement from him, especially the old ones.

There were wooden ladders that one would use to access the higher shelves. They made creaking sounds when one stepped on them - Keisuke had tried that before.

He loved climbing these shelves. It was easier now that he was older and taller. Mitsuki never minded it whenever he did it, always appearing rather amused. Some of his best memories (when he was three or four) were made traversing through the top shelves, dusting off old surfaces and peeking into large tomes that he could not yet understand.

An unrecognisable sound resonated through his ears as he reached the top shelf and scoured through its contents. Keisuke would even describe it as eerie, a bit sad even. It was like the cry of an otherworldly creature. Most definitely, it did not belong here in uncle Mitsuki's library.

Was it someone? Was it wise of him to reveal himself?

Keisuke elected to stay silent and wait it out.

Scratch that: it was getting creepy and he was getting out of the room. And then he would rush to uncle Mitsuki and tell the man everything.

Black spots appeared before his eyes. Keisuke felt a little faint. Screams echoed through the place, even though Keisuke was pretty sure this house was situated in a very safe neighbourhood. Explosions - no, he had to be hallucinating. This was getting really weird.

Then, out of the blue, Keisuke felt himself getting dragged somewhere against his will. He tried to hold tightly onto the shelf, yet the gravity was irresistible. He was paralyzed from head to toe. Dread rose through him. This had to be a very strong opponent, one that he probably couldn't fight against, so this meant trouble.

He fell.

Fully expecting to crash into the ground and break his skull, end up in the hospital and resign himself to hours and hours of criticism by his parents, Keisuke, instead, saw himself being enveloped by a vortex. Blinding green light took away his sight temporarily and, unable to control his emotions, he began screaming wildly.

~X~

It had been 26 years since Sasuke Uchiha abdicated as the Hokage of the Continent, 26 years since the establishment of the Continental Republic, 26 years since his self-imposed exile.

He had seen so much, been through so much. He had witnessed civilizations collapse, burning themselves out with their own restlessness and aggression; he had seen life taking form and watched lives coalesce into settlements, villages, towns, metropolises; he had traversed solitary wastelands for months and months on foot; he had descended into dens of sin and debauchery; he had been in wretched warzones, where the blade was the only reliable currency.

In the midst of all of this, Sasuke Uchiha was not sure whether he felt any wiser, any less lost. The pain of it all, his past life in his own world, it had all been blurred, numbed - but it was not completely gone. It never will lave. Somewhere deep down, the hurt will always remain.

He was an old man now, being slightly over sixty. His hair was a mix of black and silver. There were wrinkles on his once alabaster-like face. His cheeks were hollowed, his bone structure more pronounced. He had not aged too badly, but he was no longer a young (or even middle-aged) shinobi who could not see an end to his own mortality. Someday, he would pass away on a piece of foreign land. Alone, surrounded by strangers.

Out of all the places he had set foot in, Sekai no Hashi was by far the most interesting. Only a quarter of the size of the moon, a juncture between worlds, a cosmopolitan commercial hub, a hotbed of unrest, crime and inequality, a place that knows no night and day, a vortex of endless possibilities. One would certainly never get bored being in Sekai no Hashi. Plus, they did serve cuisine from Konoha, even though its authenticity was dubitable.

Taking one look at his old headband - in all the years of wandering, Sasuke had never parted with it and perhaps it was all due to sentimentality - he teleported to the bridge between worlds, the juncture of a million lands, where the skyline was purple and the people were from everywhere.

~X~

Moaning, Keisuke got up and rubbed his head. He had passed out near the corner of a dark and dingy alleyway. Thankfully, no one was around to take advantage of him or laugh at him. (Or sell him into slavery, bless his luck. Father loved to warn him about dangerous human traffickers, much to his mother's exasperation that Boruto was merely being paranoid.)

The skyline was purple. Weird. There were red lanterns floating in the sky everywhere.

Perplexed, Keisuke started running, rushing down the main street.

Where was he?

"Watch where you're going kid!" A tall, bulky creature grunted. It was most definitely not human. Being bulky, its eyes were a terrifying, sickening yellow. Keisuke almost fell onto the ground upon the impact but managed to steady himself.

Collecting his calm, Keisuke approached what appeared to be an old convenient store. It was dank and musty from all the sweat of its perspiring customers, which was, quite frankly, a bit disgusting. Still, the shopkeeper, an old lady with so many wrinkles Keisuke thought her skin would fall off, seemed friendly enough for conversation.

"Hello," Keisuke addressed her as he ventured towards the counter.

"Well hi little boy," she answered with raspy, weather-beaten voice.

"I'm a bit lost," Keisuke said as he cut straight to the point. "I was wondering, could you give me some directions?"

"Oh... a young boy from Terra. We don't see many people from Terra here. You're all quite a reclusive bunch," the old woman chuckled. "I'm guessing you're looking for the hotel where your family is staying? Well, most of them are clustered near the Grand Avenue. It's quite densely packed over there, but it's prime location. You're in the Shinju neighbourhood. We're a bit far from the central metropolis, but you'll get there by going down the Million Step Street and then taking the fast tram."

Keisuke could not fathom a single coherent thought from her string of words. Just what in the name of Hashirama Senju's polka-dotted undies is she talking about?

"One warning though, on your way there, through Million Step Street, you might encounter some dangerous areas. The Middlings are quite crime-ridden. Be sure to stay vigilant."

Keisuke still had no idea what she was speaking of. Still, he nodded politely, thanked her and wished her well as he left the shop.

~X~

Everything was burning, consumed by a merciless, blazing inferno.

Kakko could feel the heat crawling towards his skin. Then he imagined it ripping his skin off and then searing his flesh until it was cooked. The thought made him shudder as he rushed towards the window. It was two-stories above ground level. If he jumped, there was still a small chance he would serve, albeit perhaps with a broken leg. The dilemma made him pause briefly.

Everything he knew was gone. The small flat he lived in since he was an infant, his possessions and his dearest mother, who was shot in the head by the people who attacked them. His brother, merely a happy and carefree toddler, was not spared from the brutality of the deplorable savages. Wincing at the sight of his splattered head, smashed against the wall, Kakko had kept quiet, concealed himself and secretly made his way towards the window as they set his place aflame. They did not know he was loss made him so numb; he had not had time to process it. The hurt had not yet hit him, still falling in the realm of the intangible.

He had to live. He had to survive. His mother's desperate gaze was carved into his mind, imprinting itself on his very soul. He would not forget it. Run, she seemed to say, please, Kakko, please make it out alive. It was his fault that she was dead, for the Ravagers had traced him down for stealing their bioweapon two years ago, but he would not disappoint her last wish. He would not.

He. Would. Not.

Three, two, one.

And then he jumped.

What happened next was all so quick. Kakko was about to crash into the ground, break his legs and consign himself to paralysis for the rest of his life (and maybe eventually get caught and killed by the attackers) when a hooded figure swept him up.

The last thing he remembered before fainting was a pair of purple eyes with concentric rings.

~X~

"Where is he?!" Boruto suppressed the urge to scream at his best friend, deciding to shake Mitsuki furiously instead. He knew it wasn't entirely Mitsuki's fault. Nonetheless, it was dusk and the boy still hadn't returned. He had every right to feel worried and panicked when Mitsuki, flushed and gripped with consternation, informed him that Keisuke had simply disappeared.

He felt Sarada wrap her arms around him from behind, gently urging him to stay calm. Though he could tell she was shaking, quivering on the inside. He knew her too well. Still, years of being the Hachidaime Hokage had taught her how to maintain a mask of tranquility. Crisis management 101.

"Mitsuki," Sarada inquired, "When was the last time you saw Keisuke."

"Before lunch." Mitsuki's head hung low. The guy felt awful and, under normal circumstances, Boruto would feel bad for his previous behavior and end up apologising. "We were playing games, we were feeling hungry, so I decided to go out and get some food for us. When I came back, he was gone. I tried looking for him. I searched all around the house and then all around the village. I activated my Sage Mode. All was to no avail. His chakra had simply... vanished."

"Vanished..." Sarada repeated his words with a murmur. She furrowed her brows, folded her arms and closed her eyes. "Boruto, Mitsuki, do you guys remember the time when we... vanished?"

"That one time when we ended up at that alternate dimension? Of course I do," Mitsuki replied.

"Do you guys think something similar could have happened to our Keisuke?"

The words our Keisuke made Boruto's heart wince. He was their boy, their mischevious little son.

"Possibly," Boruto muttered. "Possibly."

"Right, there's no time to grieve or feel at loss. Mitsuki, please don't blame yourself for anything. You've done what you could. Boruto," Sarada said as he gazed at her husband and he could tell that she was holding back tears and wanted to simply hold her tight, "I'll ask Karin to look out for Keisuke's chakra signature. I'll ask dad to use his Rinnegan. I'll ask Nanadaime if the Kyuubi could sense anything."

"My library," Mitsuki blurted out suddenly as if he had just remembered something important. "Keisuke loves it there. I mean, he would go there clandestinely when he thought I didn't know and traverse through the shelves looking for interesting books. I didn't mind him doing it anyway. My guess is that after I went out to buy friend chicken - we'll talk about this later - he probably went inside again. Sarada, you should go there and use your Mangekyo to see."

Sarada nodded and made her way towards the library, with Boruto and Mitsuki following her.

Boruto knew that his wife had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan precisely the day he had died in that alternate dimension, yet she did not fully realise it until they were on a mission when they were 15. They were asked to solve the murder of the Tsubaki Conglomerate's young heir. When arriving at the crime scene, Sarada immediately felt her eyes hurt and saw exactly what had happened. It had been his servant, jealous of his affections towards and relationship with a young maid. Being able to look into the past of a specific location, it turns out, was one of Sarada's abilities, with the others being her lilac Susanoo and Amaterasu.

Sarada shut her eyes and then activated her Mangekyo Sharingan.

And then she was in a trance. This normally happened when she gazed into the past. Boruto was used to it (even though he was a little freaked out at first.)

"I was right!" Sarada gasped, clasping her mouth. "Boruto, Mitsuki, he got... he got sucked into a vortex while climbing shelves. I don't know where he went, but he's still alive, somewhere."

Boruto was silent, deep in contemplation. He recalled the dream he had two years ago, buried in the depths of his consciousness. Could it be telling him something? He was not sure. He would have to give it some more thought before he said anything important. "Let's go Sarada," Boruto whispered into his wife's ear. "Goodbye Mitsuki."

"Mitsuki, take care," Sarada said. "We'll let you know about any new developments." She walked towards Mitsuki and gave him a hug, nudging Boruto to do the same.

~X~

Boruto was still short of words when they got back and, from years of experience of dealing with her husband, Sarada knew something was wrong. It was as if he was suffocating from secrets.

When they entered the living room, now empty as Eriko was at Jun's house for dinner, they felt a positively oppressive silence reign over them. Sighing, Sarada sat down and opened her bag of paperwork left over from the day, beginning the night's labour, all while hoping that Boruto would confess to her just what was bugging him.

Her husband appeared very hesitant to initiate conversation, fidgeting and restlessly walking up and down the space. Unable to stand his attitude any longer, Sarada questioned, "Is something bothering you? Is there something you'd like to be telling me but are not 100% sure whether to do so?"

Boruto mumbled a few indecipherable grunts. Usually, this indicated that he was struggling with articulation.

"Boruto," Sarada emphasized her husband's name, loudly and clearly. The sound reverberated through the entire room.

"Sekai no Hashi," Boruto finally said. "Two years ago, I had the weirdest dream ever."

Sarada paused writing and got up, facing her husband with confusion.

"There is the slight possibility that we're not the only world with sentient and intelligent species, though we're one of the few where knowledge and usage of chakra were well developed," Boruto speculated from memory. "Sekai no Hashi is a special place, reported a juncture between worlds. But there's more to the dream. I was... not myself there."

"What do you mean?" Sarada pressed him.

"Well, first things first, I was in the body of a boy - well not a human boy - named Kakko. Secondly, it's not from this dimenson. It's set in the alternate dimension we were in all these years ago, to be precise. I know because I saw your dad in there - well, not your dad, but you know... Yeah, so basically I was in that body and carried a scroll to him and then I fainted and woke up. It was really strange. But I've been thinking, maybe that dream was a way of foretelling Keisuke's disappearance? I'm not too sure how that would work, but -"

"Sumire's Nue!" Sarada exclaimed as the creature flew into their room, interjecting Boruto's stream of thought. "Sorry for the interrupt, continue speaking..."

"No, no," Boruto said, "This must be something important too." He retrieved a scroll from the creature and began reading it. "Asami has fainted earlier the day and received strange visions of a place with purple sky, explosions and - no. No way, Asami is having visions of Sekai no Hashi."

"What's the matter?" Sarada was really worried this time. It appeared that Keisuke was not the only child of hers who was affected. "Is Asami okay? Is their mission going fine?"

"Yes. It's an escort mission so she doesn't get off until the end of this week. That being said, according to Sumire, it's not a very dangerous one so Asami would most likely be safe," Boruto said, trying to reassure himself.

"Oh my - I'm calling Itachi and Eriko to see if they're fine," Sarada declared as she rushed towards the home phone. "I'll be back in a moment."

Boruto sunked into himself as his wife departed the room. He felt so helpless. Was this how his own father felt all these years ago when he, too, was stuck in the other world? Was there nothing he could do?

No. Technically no. There was still a sliver of possibility that he could travel to the other place. He did it once, didn't he? Sure, the mysterious scroll had reportedly vanished, but there had to be other methods, right?

Right?

~X~

He stretched his fingertips and then kicked his legs. The first thing he noticed was that he was not paralysed or injured anywhere.

His eyes fluttered open and he was in a dark place. There was no source of natural light, only the artificial shine of an odd lamp that Kakko only saw in some quaint exhibition of foreign goods. His bed was rather plain and he realised that there was a desk in the corner of the room, where a figure, still obscured, was furiously scribbling down something.

"Excuse me?" Kakko got up and immediately felt a little reticent. The events of before were slowly hitting him and he did not know what to do, being on the verge of collapsing onto himself. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes; they burned.

The man on the far corner seemed to notice his movement and made his way towards Kakko.

"You've awakened, Kakko." The light was still not directly shining on his face.

"Have we met." Kakko backed away defensively.

"In a way, yes," was the ambivalent response.

Kakko did not know whether to scream or sigh in relief.

"You can call me Sasuke." The figure reached out a gloved hand as a friendly gesture. However, his voice, in its graveness, intimidated Kakko. It did not belong to an ordinary man. "Though I hear that some here call me the Wanderer."

Power. Sadness. Sorrow. Remorse. Kakko could taste it, even though it was displayed in the far distance. He craved it as a hungry urchin craves scraps of bacon, sensing it, feeling it, hoping to bask in it when circumstances become fortuitous. The Wanderer exuded all these things too.

The Wanderer. That name was indeed familiar. It was who the old scientist begged him to take the scroll to all these years ago after all. Somehow, Kakko could not remember actually meeting the Wanderer. Yet he had a premonition that the mission in stopping the Ravagers would end in victory. Now, Kakko wished none of that happened. Guilt gnawing on his insides, dissolving his intestines in asinine acid, he scorned fate for placing that old man in his way. If only he had minded his own business, stayed out of it all. Whatever deity that crafted this distasteful world, he didn't care, he cursed its name regardless. Whatever racial war, insurgency that would have started had that scroll fell into the wrong hands, he would rather it did. If only, if only his mother and brother - oh, Juni, sweet, unknowing, innocent Juni who never ended up suffering because of the swiftness in which his breath was taken away... - if only they were still alive and breathing and laughing around the dinner table.

If only.

Which brings things to the Wanderer again. Like all children who had grown up in the dingey, hopeless, dour outskirts of the Metropolis, Kakko had heard tales of the Wanderer. Human, from Terra, supposedly, but, at the same time, also a deity. He had defeated the dragon, previously thought as invincible, below Sekai no Hashi's plane of existence, a creature that many had believed would end up destroying their state of existence too. He had tamed wildfires with a far fiercer inferno of his own. The fires of hell, reportedly, black as night. He had revived the dead, apparently, in a faraway land when the only heir to a precarious kingdom on the verge of civil war was brutally assassinated in a calculated plot to instigate conflict. Some said that he was once a sovereign of some sorts - much like the Sovereign that reigned over Sekai no Hashi - only much more competent, much more terrifying. Less of a bumbling bubblehead and more of a somber overlord. Less of a desperate seeker for acceptance and love, and more of an iron-fisted king who had no qualms about being loathed.

The Wanderer, was, in some ways, the key to everything.

"Mister." Kakko breathed before he spoke again. "Mister, would you please revive my mother?"

The Wanderer paused. He did not answer Kakko's request. Perhaps luck was not in Kakko's favour.

"Mister," Kakko repeated again. "They... they say you can bring back the dead. It's not fair, mister... Wanderer-"

"Call me Sasuke," the Wanderer said with a grimace. "That epithet is so very alienating."

"Mister Sasuke-"

"Well, I suppose it's better than Mister..."

"Mister Sasuke, can you please bring back my mother and brother. I should have died yesterday - not them. I-"

"Yet you didn't," the Wanderer uttered his words with a merciless bluntness, sweeping away Kakko's hopes. "The ability to bring back the dead is no small matter. It's extremely taxing and, not to mention, doesn't always end in the ideal way. Given that their bodies perished in the fire, moreover, I-"

"Then at least teach me some of your abilities," Kakko found himself declare boldly, drawing on a hitherto unknown reservoir of strength. He felt braver, more assertive. "They took away everything from me. My home, my means of living, the people I love. I need to become strong enough to face them... and kill them."

He felt the Wanderer quiver, albeit only mildly. There was shock etched into the man's old and wizened face. His eyes became unrecognisable.

Hatred. Vengeance. Kakko suddenly felt grander, less inhibited. It was like he'd been imbued with an ancient source of power. Raw, untended and hungry to break out and unleash havoc.

"Please, Sasuke," Kakko said, "Please." He had forgotten the formalities.

He was met with silence and, quite possibly, unfeeling indifference.

"There will be no point, child," Sasuke finally said, "I've already killed them all. The ones who attacked your places - and the remaining stump of the once ubiquitous militia known as the Ravagers. I wasn't alone of course, for I had help from Sekai no Hashi's police department."

"Oh." It should have made him jump with joy, it should have made him immersed with euphoric ecstasy. Yet all Kakko experienced was a painful hollowness. It was his right! Revenge was his right! And, inexplicably, it was denied from him. He could not hide his baffling disappointment.

Sasuke seemed to have noticed his reaction. Sighing, the man shut his eyes and held Kakko's small hands in his ragged palms.

"Kakko... I can understand how you feel-"

"No, you can't!" Kakko did not know where all the rage was coming from.

"Kakko."

The air around Sasuke became very heavy. Kakko felt his name reverberate throughout the small room.

"I should have been the one to avenge my mother and brother-"

"Kakko, listen to me, Kakko, if there's one thing I should have learned from the wretched life I lived, it's that revenge is the banalest form of self-appeasement, the most meaningless way to reconcile yourself with tragedy."

Sasuke took a deep breath. Sensing that the man was about to say something very important, Kakko stopped with his own emotional turbulence - for just a second. He had a feeling that he needed to listen to the old, hardened man in front of him. He needed to listen carefully in life, even if this was the last time he did such a thing.

"I was like you, once upon a time. Years ago, far far away, in what you guys call Terra, a planet very much isolated from the rest of the universe, in the village of Konohagakure, my whole clan was wiped out, by my very own brother, the person who I respected and loved so much. He killed everyone I cared about, wiped everything I cared about off the face of the earth - pardon my, uh, provinciality in that phrase."

"That's fine. I know the small-mentality of people of Terra." Kakko gave a small smile. He tried to grin in the face of it all.

"He wanted me to hate him and he succeeded. He wanted me to dedicate my life to avenging my family and he succeeded. He wanted me to turn my back on everything else, all the other bonds I could have forged, all the happiness I could have had, all the possibilities my life could have taken, and he succeeded. I became a shell of a person, hell-bent on murdering him and restoring honor to my family. Yet, when I finally did it, things did not quite go as planned. I did not feel satisfied. I felt empty. What's more is that it turns out he had committed the massacre on orders from conspiring Village Elders, who feared the presence and power of my clan. He had begged them, begged them hard, that I be the only one to be spared. So I needed more revenge and I decided to destroy Konoha. All the ties I had cut, I made sure the severing was permanent. And... and... when it... when I finally saw my brother again, a zombie resurrected to fight the rest of the Shinobi World, all he could say was that he was sorry and he loved me. He tried to make me understand that there was more to hatred and revenge, he tried to make me realising the true meaning of the shinobi spirit and the Will of Fire. I thought I had understood him, I thought I knew what he would have wanted and set out to become Hokage. I..."

Sasuke was a little lost for words. Kakko could not blame him.

"I, long story short, I killed my best friend and united the scattered countries of the continent into one. I became the Hokage that everyone feared, that everyone loathed. I thought I had it all, but I was proven wrong again. Misguided, self-righteous, still unable to free myself from the yoke of hatred and revenge, I could only ever be wrong. It took a mysterious intervention from the fates to save me, to save my village, to save the rest of the Continent. A boy from another world. He was Boruto Uzumaki, the otherwise son of my best friend Naruto Uzumaki..."

The name sounded familiar, Kakko thought, strangely familiar.

"Boruto tried to show me, time and time again, that there was an alternative to the perpetual cycle of hatred. He tried to make me see the light. He very nearly did not succeed. But, hey, I wouldn't be here talking to you if he didn't, right?"

Kakko did not know what to say. He still felt sad, sorrowful, angry even. But he did not know what to say in front of the man, who had clearly experienced so many vicissitudes in life.

"I..."

"But I will train you," Sasuke declared abruptly. "The Ravagers are gone but the trouble is far from over. The Ravagers were only part of the game, a game that the Intouchables have initiated. You will need to keep yourself safe – and, bear this in mind, you will not be left alone."

"Yes, Mister Sasuke." Kakko nodded. " I will do my best to learn."

"Eat some food. Training will start in an hour."

~X~

Miraculously, Keisuke had gotten lost again. He had initially planned on adhering to that old lady's advice and make his way towards Grand Avenue, the supposed epicenter of Sekai no Hashi's vibrant economy. Yet after several paths and turns and some very salivating blue fruit, Keisuke found himself in a rundown neighbourhood still enveloped in the doldrum's of last year's seasonal downturn. An empty orchard situated right next to a textiles mill. The fallen leaves crunched under his feet as he felt the hot winds, laced by the heat of the nearest star, sweep through him.

There was an eerie charm to this place. Like a snippet out of a storybook, not that Keisuke had any in being a prince or a princess or a knight or any of that. There was also a desolated, dilapidated flair surrounding it all. It was as if the movie had ended and yet the set had been left there, dying and decaying. Yet Keisuke was in love with it all, for no reason whatsoever. He felt drawn towards sad places. It was beautiful in all its wretched splendor.

He dashed towards the rusty swing and happily swung up and down, savouring the scenery before him. He half expected someone, some curious, fun-loving kid to come join him. But he did not mind having the place for his own.

Sure, at the Academy, Keisuke Uzumaki-Uchiha was known as the vivacious kid for whom socialising seemed like second-nature. Heck, if he'd be honest, he'd say that he was probably one of the most popular kids of the class. Maybe it came with being the Hokage's son, maybe it was his popularity (popularity begets further popularity, after all), maybe it was because he was fairly smart and people wanted to copy off his work, maybe it was because he was an all-around goofball who knew how to have fun, there were all sorts of possibilities, not that he particularly cared. Witnessing people suck up to you solely because of the status your family afforded you was not the nicest thing in the world, but so long as one can distinguish one's genuine companions everyone else, there's no harm. Keisuke had a pretty good idea on it all. Heck, he wouldn't mind if, when the time came, he only had one or two true friends, as callous as it sounded. He wouldn't mind it. He wouldn't mind it at all.

"No!" He slipped on the floor. He would have to be a little more careful.

There was a hut on the other end of the orchid. It looked comfortable enough. Keisuke was feeling rather tired and decided that it would be a good idea to rest in their a bit. It seemed uninhabited, though if it were, Keisuke would politely apologise to its owner and climb the tree next to it, relaxing on top of that instead. Always have a Plan B.

Initially, his worries appeared unfounded, however, as it seemed entirely deserted. The interiors were plain, with only a small, hard sofa and a table with some chairs surrounding it. There was also a small basket of an unrecognisable species of beige-coloured vegetables, which looked rather out of place. Except it wasn't really that out of place.

No, Keisuke began to understand, overwhelmed by self-awareness, that he was the one who was out of place in all of this. He was far from home, in an alien land - and alien in a land, quite literally.

And he was nowhere near going home. Here he was, being an utter moron (pardon the language), swinging on swings in some abandoned garden and exploring uninhabited houses for no particular reason. There was no focus in his activities whatsoever; he was stung by the plague of procrastination, which had temporarily shoved aside all feelings of fear, which were slowly returning again.

"Idiot!" He shouted at himself, shaking his head furiously and jumping off the softa where he had previously lodged himself.

Itachi would never had gotten into this state, far away from his own _planet_ (it was crazy, too crazy for Keisuke to fathom, for he was not sure whether extraterrestrial life forms really existed on a scale like this, given that Momoshiki, Kinshiki and Toneri Ootsusuki were the only ones he really heard about) and not doing a single thing about it. Heck, Itachi would never had wandered around uncle Mitsuki's place like a sneaky little -

There were footsteps underneath him, faint but detectable by those whose senses were more sharpened by shinobi training.

Keisuke held his breath, got down to his knees and then pressed his ear against the ground. There were huddled voices, indecipherable, but getting louder. They must have heard his cursing a while ago.

This could be a hiding place, maybe even a secret lair for some nefarious organisation, for all Keisuke knew. The boy chided himself for his naivety and lack of awareness. Granted, it may have been paranoia and maybe the people beneath him were merely throwing illegal sex parties (the knowledge was courtesy to some of uncle Mitsuki's... books) or engaging in weird religious rituals, but still. If there was one thing Boruto was good it, it was instilling a sense of perpetual paranoia in Keisuke. It was mostly unintentional, but still. Telling your kids that they could get kidnapped all the time isn't exactly the best way to make them feel secure.

The footsteps were getting louder, closer. It was when Keisuke heard the voices, still mildly muffled, scream, "Get the intruder!", that he realised it would be best if he started running.

They only caught sight of him once he already sprinted out of the courtyard and was well on his way down the Million Step Street, not too far away from the Midlings that the old lady had warned about, in fact. Which sounded bad. Although, in all honesty, Keisuke was a bit glad that amidst all the panic, that he had finally figured out how to amplify his speed using chakra and sustain it in long-term. A small consolation of an achievement, perhaps.

Someone threw a small grenade his way and he evaded it, rushing forwards with harder fervour. They weren't too near for him to engage them yet - and he was not sure whether it was prudent for him to do so. A small premonition told him that help was near, albeit Keisuke had a mixed record when it came to his sixth-sense in life. Once, last year, in fact, he had mistakenly gotten the impression that Kakashi would tolerate his presence on a Saturday night after he got tired of being in the house. He was duly scarred. It transpired that seventy-year-olds still lived very vibrant... nightlives. Boruto was livid afterward.

Someone threw another grenade. This time, it exploded a bit earlier and, realising that he was about to get blown into smithereens, Keisuke quickly weaved a few hand signs to conjure the only water-styled jutsu he really knew, the Water Cannon Attack, which subdued the fire and put a good distance between him and the attack.

"Firestyle: Fireball Jutsu!" It was the only other jutsu Keisuke knew. It blew back a string of other attacks.

He kept running, running, running.

He was drastically outnumbered.

He froze.

His whole body felt dead.

That was when he realised that he was placed under a trance. Some strange weapon had managed to immobilise him in midair. He could not even struggle for release.

Just as he was about to resign himself to whatever misfortunes lay ahead, he felt light again. He fell to the ground, face first, which hurt a lot.

Then, as he looked up, he was taken aback. Never had he imagine to meet his maternal grandfather in such a place.

He shuddered a little at the sight of a man's slip throat, the flesh viscerally curving out and flowing with blood. He had never taken another life, not yet at least - and no, flies don't count.

"Shinra Tensei!"

The remaining attackers were pushed back by a force of gravity.

Before Keisuke had any time to recuperate, his grandpa grabbed him and hoisted him on the back.

"Hold tightly," Sasuke said.

"Alright, gramps."

Keisuke felt relief wash over him. Here, in this unfamiliar land, he had finally encountered a member of his own family. Perhaps his parents figured out what had happened and sent Sasuke, who was able to travel between worlds, to rescue him. What Keisuke did not see with Sasuke's stunned expression.

Nor did he notice the fact that for the first time in his life, his eyes bled red as rubies.

~X~

The kid had called him 'gramps.' What's more, the kid had strongly resembled himself when he was still at the Academy. But it was when the kid - out of the trauma of witnessing another creature's slit throat - activated his own Sharingan that Sasuke's worst fears have been confirmed.

Something similar had happened 26 years ago, when some mysterious force sent Boruto Uzumaki over to this world. And now, it appears, judging from the kid's whiskered face and raven hair, that Boruto's son - and his _grandson_ \- was beamed across the dimensions.

Something was wrong. The Intouchables. They had to be behind this. They were up to something, concocting a threat far more grave than anything anyone had ever experienced. So far, his readings, the trails he had been given and the people he had interrogated had given him faint, ominous ideas.

Still, amidst all the worry and troubles, Sasuke felt a little warm on the inside as the boy faithfully clung onto him and waited to be delivered to safety.

* * *

 **A/N: I sincerely hoped that you guys enjoyed this and it would be really nice if you guys could leave a few reviews/ comments on this chapter.**

 **Also, I'd like to say that this collection goes back and forth during time. Once I'm done with this story, I'd probably move onto Boruto and Sarada's first child :D**


	8. Reckoning

The ground was shifting, people were screeching, exploding and... vanishing. She was in Konoha's Central Shopping District, in the very midst of the commotion, running along with the others, running away from -

A large nebulous screen appeared in front of her. And then she realized it wasn't really a screen, but a folded version of the same place unfolding before her very eyes. People were running, rushing out of there too and as more came, more on her side began disappearing.

She felt her heart race, beating until her chest hurt and causing her to perspire furiously until her shirt was soaked.

 _As Sekai no Hashi collapses, the bridge between worlds collapses._

"What are you talking about?" She croaked, her voice hoarse. It was a while ago since she had her last drink.

 _But there's more. If two realities end up colliding, all you know - and all they know too - will end up canceling each other out._

"What do you mean?" She was confused

"ASAMI!"

"What?" Asami jolted awake.

She felt a dig by the elbow on part of Kagami. "Been having weird visions again?"

"Yeah..." Asami murmured

"Need some water?" Kagami offered her a glass.

"Thanks," said Asami gratefully.

"Do you want to talk to me about it? I mean, I probably don't know much about anything, but if it makes you feel any better..."

"I saw this world ending, Kagami. It's difficult to explain, but there's this voice telling me that... that our reality with colliding with another and the two are canceling each other out. It's freaky, I don't even know whether to believe in any of that."

"Wow."

"Is that... all you have to say?"

"Hey, I'm not an expert! For real though, I hope we end up good on this. Let's talk to Sumire-sensei about this. She might be able to relay this to your parents and then maybe we can figure out what's going on."

He held out his hand and she took it. Asami suddenly felt a little bit awkward.

"I guess."

"Yeah, uh, you want to go now?"

"Sure."

~X~

Sumire Kakei and Teuchi accompanied the client at a bar still languid in the early evening.

The daughter of the minor aristocrat, some distant-relation of the Grass Country's daimyo, was a bit spoilt at times, but, nevertheless, she was mostly an amicable person who relished in chatting with people. All kinds of people. And since they were on a mission to escort her to the Land of Snow, they met a lot of people. Ergo, she had essentially been talking nonstop, which Teuchi found mildly overbearing, even as Sumire-sensei urged patience on his part. They were here to do a professional job after all, not to enjoy themselves.

Heck, it wasn't his fault for feeling disgruntled. He was the only one on his team who had to endure this, given that his two other teammates were too busily wooing each other's hearts. Okay, maybe not. He felt bad for making light of Asami's faintings. She did appear pretty shaken yesterday.

At present, the client seemed to be conversing with two young men and Sumire-sensei sat with them.

Then, Asami and Kagami entered the place. From his place, it appeared that they were making some sparse talk. Kagami said something and Asami gave a small chuckle, shaking her head. It was so obvious that something was going on between them; Teuchi was no idiot. He was a guy, a guy who was romantically and sexually attracted to girls, a guy who had had many previous crushes, a guy who was also good friends with Kagami and he knew that Kagami felt something for Asami. He had fancied her ever since she beat him to a bloody pulp and told him to never mess with her again - scratch that: he had liked her the day they saw each other, meaning that he was making fun of her all the time to get her attention. What a moron.

"Teuchi, Sumire-sensei, Asami has been... having strange experiences," Kagami said.

"Is this related to our conversation yesterday?" Sumire stated seriously, obviously concerned. Teuchi got the impression that he was being blind-sided from something very, very important.

"Yes," Kagami answered.

"Right." Sumire's brows furrowed. "It would be best if no one heard us talk about it. We're in a public location. That being said, we still have a client to watch. We-"

"Don't worry, I'll look after her," offered Teuchi.

"That won't be needed," Sumire decided as she waved a few hand signs and an invisible barrier was erected around the bar table, "No one can hear us now."

"Wow, real subtle," Kagami commented. "I don't mean it in a sarcastic way. Man, this is pretty cool. Can you teach this to us?"

"In time, I will," Sumire mused. "Now, Asami... why don't you tell us about your latest vision?"

"There were screams everywhere, people running and running and running incessantly. I was in the Konoha Shopping District. Then this weird mirror image of the place popped up and people started vanishing. This strange voice - the same one as last time - told me that two realities could end up colliding and that this might be related to this place called Sekai no Hashi being potentially destroyed. I'm just so, so confused. I've got to be hallucinating, right sensei?" Asami finally finished talking. Her breath was getting short and her face was red from the panic.

Sumire sensei pulled her into a gentle hug and told her to not worry herself too much for the time being.

"But, surely, we must be doing something, right? If I'm not imagining all of this, then all these visions are coming onto me for a reason," Asami speculated.

Sumire took a deep breath, unsure of whether to reveal what she knew. Teuchi wondered what else he was missing out.

"Asami," Sumire said, "I... I am almost a 100% sure that your visions aren't simple hallucinations. I've already messaged your parents regarding this matter."

All three of them listened attentively to what their sensei had to say.

"I should have told you this earlier," Sumire explained, "This morning, I received a message from your parents and - and your brother Keisuke has vanished."

"What?" Asami's hands clasped around her mouth. Kagami noticed her shock and looked even more concerned. Teuchi shared his sentiments.

"There's more, according to your parents, he went through a vortex to another dimension," Sumire continued, " Your mother confirmed it through her special dojutsu technique. I, we all I mean, think that your brother's disappearance might be a part of that dimension 'poaching its heroes from else where,' as per what that voice told you. They're doing the best to find your brother. But if that voice and your visions are right on everything, then I'm afraid that your job is precisely what is said: a seer and a messenger. I... this is all very strange and unexpected, I can imagine for all three of you, even for me, but as shinobi, we need to deal with the unanticipated challenges that appear. Asami, I'm afraid that this might not be your last vision. However, they do not seem to be life-threatening. From now on, you will relay to me every single one you receive so that I can communicate them to your parents. We can only do our best."

"I understand." That was all Asami said.

Sporadically, Teuchi declared: "Group hug!" Heck, someone had to lighten the mood and bring everyone's emotions out of the doldrums. Maybe he was being counterintuitive but Kagami and Asami all joined in. Sumire smiled politely as she declined.

And then the seal was lifted and they were once more, greeted by the sound of the young aristocrat laughing about their recent incident at the hot springs, when she mistakenly identified a bunch of monkeys as creepers. That was quite an experience, Teuchi recalled.

It was amazing how calm and composed the rest of his teammates were - at least on the outside.

~X~

Boruto couldn't resist heaving a sigh of relief as Eriko and Itachi came into the common room of their house, on edge and eager to find out just what went wrong. Two of their kids were safe and sound and he was grateful for that much. Sarada rushed towards them, embracing them tightly, protectively, beckoning them towards the sofa in the middle.

As everyone sat down, Boruto began explaining just what happened, or at least what they could piece together after consultations with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and other space-time experts, as well as news of Asami's visions from Sumire. Itachi did his best to maintain his composure, yet Boruto could see cracks appearing in his expressions. Their son - in some ways, like both of them - always pretended to be emotionally tougher than he actually was. Eriko looked to be on the verge of tears; it was difficult for her, it was difficult for all of them.

"So... is Keisuke ever going to be back?" Eriko choked. Boruto felt his heart wince.

"Yes," Boruto found himself saying (lying?) to his daughter.

"And will Asami be fine?" Eriko asked even further.

"Yes," Boruto reassured her. "Sumire explained that asides from periodic visions, nothing too bad was happening to your sister. She appears to be receiving important messages that are somewhat related to what's happening to Keisuke."

"Are we going to do anything about them?" Itachi spoke up. "I mean, we've got to do something, right? We can figure out a way to reach and help retrieve Keisuke. We-"

"You and Eriko are staying put," Sarada asserted. It was her authoritative Hokage-tone, which Eriko almost always listened to. Itachi did not complain either. "We're trying to test out ways for your father to reach them. We have a few ideas. In the meantime, though, Itachi, Eriko, please stay safe. Please..."

Eriko nodded obediently and hugged her mother. Itachi hesitated for a moment before joining them.

~X~

After the time of a millennia (or a period of around half an hour), they finally arrived at a small, unassuming hut, which Keisuke presumed was Sasuke's hiding place in this strange planet. "Gramps, why are we here?" He still asked in order to gain some reassurance.

Sasuke took a deep breath and said, "You'll see, kid. You'll see."

"Master Sasuke! You're back!"

A voice Keisuke couldn't recognise.

It was most definitely not a human being. Purple-skinned, red-haired, ice blue eyes. Nope, Keisuke concluded. Not a human.

"Who are you?" Keisuke blurted out.

The boy looked taken aback by his question. Shocked even. Keisuke felt a little bad about it. "Sorry, my name is Keisuke. Keisuke Uchiha-Uzumaki." He held out his hand as a gesture of friendliness.

There was a slight tensing of the shoulders from Sasuke that did not go unnoticed by Keisuke. The boy was mostly (bar his disastrous incident in the orchard) on the perceptive side of things.

"Kakko," the boy said.

"Well, it's good to meet you Kakko," Keisuke responded with an amiable nod.

"Kakko, why don't you go and practice some of the shuriken techniques I just taught you? I need to speak to Keisuke," Sasuke suggested and Kakko obediently left them on their own.

"The boy's a little shaken," Sasuke explained. "He lost his family a day ago and I have decided that he will accompany me for the time being."

"That's awful." Keisuke gasped. Now he most definitely felt like a bad person for his initial callousness.

"It is, it is. Sadly, our world is in no short supply of tragedies..." Sasuke shook his head.

"But gramps, what are you doing all the way here?" Keisuke finally got to ask what's plaguing his curiosity. It made no sense. He always knew, heard stories from both of his parents and maternal grandmother, about how grandpa Sasuke traveled a lot in order to search for Konoha's external threats. Dad had really admired the man, even aspired to be like him, the faithful shadow that protects the village in the darkness. In some way, Boruto did end up emulating Sasuke when he became a distinguished member of the ANBU. It was only when Keisuke was born that Boruto had quit his work and dedicated himself to looking after the children.

"Keisuke," Sasuke said, unsure how to progress, "The thing is, I'm not really your grandpa."

"What?"

"To put things short, not only are you on a different planet, you are also in an alternate dimension."

"What does that even mean?!"

"It means," Sasuke explained as his eyes pierced Keisuke's. Black met black. Grandma Sakura had said that he looked very similar to grandpa Sasuke as a child. The resemblance, according to her, was uncanny. "It means, that going home for you will be a little more difficult."

"Oh." Keisuke felt his stomach sink. Was he stuck here forever?

"But ways of traveling between dimensions are not impossible," Sasuke continued, offering Keisuke a sliver of hope, "Your father did it once using a forbidden scroll and he did it again through a very... curious transferral of consciousness. The boy Kakko - there's a connection between him and your father in the sense that your father once woke up in a dream as him. Nonetheless, perhaps we should also raise the possibility that there is a reason as to why you were brought here and that you cannot return unless you accomplish what you were meant to do."

"And what would that be?" Keisuke was, at once, feeling irritated, apprehensive, terrified, incredulous and home-sick. Yes, home-sick. It had been more than a day - he had spent the night in that very suspicious orchard - since he came here, Sekai no Hashi, and he wondered how his family had been. Mum and dad must be worried sick. So would Itachi and Eriko. Asami was still on her mission, but he thought that she would be in for an unpleasant surprise once she returned.

"I cannot fully say." Sasuke shook his head.

Whelp.

"Oh." Keisuke could barely hide his disappointment in his monosyllabic response.

"I'm very sorry Keisuke, that you have to go through all of this..."

"It's - it's fine. It's not your fault so you don't have to apologise about anything."

"And... forgive me for being curious, but would you be happy with telling me a little more about your life? Things turned out differently in this dimension..."

"Well, I'm Keisuke Uchiha-Uzumaki. I'm from Konoha and am currently a student at the Academy. I'm 10 years old and I have 3 siblings - yeah mum and dad were pretty prolific. Oh and my mum's Hokage. I guess I really like cooking? I mean, it's quite nice to be able to make whatever food you want to eat and it'll come in handy when I move out. I'm also my class's reigning champion on Jump! It's this game. I... to be honest, I can't think of anything else to say..." He trailed off rather anti-climactically, but Sasuke didn't look annoyed at all. There was a trace of sadness and ... regret?

Just what had gone differently in this world?

"Ah, I see." A rare smile from a man whose wrinkles looked etched into a permanent frown. "It's nice to know."

"Yeah, I mean... uh... do I get to be with you until we can figure out how I can get back? I'm not sure how safe it is for me to go around wondering on my own. I mean, you saw, I am kind of familiar with some ninjutsu and shurikenjutsu, but still..."

"Why, did you think I was going to leave you on your own?" A chuckle.

So it's settled then, thought Keisuke.

~X~

 _\- One day later -_

"Good. You're making some progress," Keisuke commented as Kakko's shuriken went 2 inches away from the target. It was impressive if you considered the fact that the boy had no prior knowledge of shurikenjutsu. "Your form needs some improvement. Here, watch me."

Though a complete novice to the concept of chakra and ninjutsu, Keisuke had to admit that the boy was an attentive and fast learner. Maybe one day, they could even spar together.

Kakko was, reportedly, three years younger than him and, once the initial awkwardness was overcome, Keisuke found him to be rather enjoyable company. It was also weird not being the youngest person in the room anymore and having another boy look up to him for advice. (Being the youngest sibling, he had gotten so accustomed to infantilely trailing behind Itachi or Eriko as he begged them to show him "cool stuff.") It installed a sense of responsibility within Keisuke as he showed Kakko some basic tricks on shuriken accuracy, while Sasuke was temporarily away doing something Keisuke did not know.

"Nearly there!" Keisuke encouraged Kakko. "Make it curve just a little more... here, I'll show you!"

It felt really nice, imparting his own (meager) knowledge to others and feeling useful.

"You almost got it!"

The shuriken was less than an inch away from the target. Coming to think of it, it was kind of scary how fast Kakko was improving, as only two days ago, the boy still had no idea what chakra even was.

The shuriken struck the center and Kakko leaped in joy. Keisuke rushed towards him to give him a high five.

"That was awesome!" Keisuke said.

"It was... probably nothing compared to you and Master Sasuke." Kakko tried to not boast, but Keisuke knew he could barely hide his delight.

"Well... it took me two weeks to hit the centre for the first time. And, bear in mind, my family, well, my mother's family specifically specialized in shurikenjutsu so I kind of got the best tuition and it was also in the blood," Keisuke explained. It was true. He practiced day and night, hoping to beat Itachi's record and accomplished it, though by just a day. When Sarada praised him and Boruto gave him a thumbs up, he couldn't feel more proud.

Of course, there were many things Itachi managed that Keisuke couldn't. Firstly, in the blatant unfairness of the genetic lottery, Itachi had 3 chakra natures and became an expert in lightning, fire and wind ninjutsu by the time he made jonin. So far, Keisuke only knew a paltry of fire and water jutsus that did not require much chakra or expertise. Secondly, Itachi could do all sorts of cool tricks with his kunais and shurikens that Keisuke struggled with. Partially, Sarada reassured him, this came with the fact that Itachi had already awakened his Sharingan and it made the special kind of manoeuvring much easier. Furthermore, he was only 10 years old. Still, Keisuke decided that he wanted to demonstrate his skills in front of Kakko. "Watch me," Keisuke said with a wink as he got out six kunais.

Jumping into the air with a backflip, Keisuke threw them out, directing three to one target and the other three to the other one. All of them struck perfectly, layering on top of the other. Smirking, Keisuke turned around to see Kakko's awed face.

"That's so cool," Kakko gasped.

"Someone likes showing off," Sasuke said as he walked in on both of them. "How about this, Keisuke, we'll show Kakko how to block off shuriken attacks. He could learn much from you."

Keisuke nodded enthusiastically.

That enthusiasm, however, was short-lived. Soon, Sasuke's stream of shurikens, coming after Keisuke incessantly like a merciless barrage of evil metal mosquitos, was making him sweat like a dog. Keisuke had always suspected that whenever they trained together, Itachi was deliberately going easy on him. This was something else. Sasuke did not hold back, at all - or maybe tiring a 10-year-old was simply second-nature to him.

Panting Keisuke deflected another shuriken and ducked from another just in time.

He felt his eyes burn. It hurt a lot. But all of a sudden, everything seemed clearer. He was able to operate faster, anticipate more complex attacks and scrape by just a little easier.

Sasuke stopped.

"Your eyes!" Kakko said. "They're just like Master Sasuke's!"

Confused, Keisuke frowned.

Sasuke took out a small mirror out of his pocket. "Keisuke, I'll let you see this for yourself."

They were blood red, with one black tomae in each.

The Sharingan. He had just awoken his Sharingan.

"It must have happened as you were running away from some mooks hired by the Intouchables. They were going to organised a bunch of skirmishes near the Middlings to stir up unrest and insecurity," Sasuke explained. There was a small, wry smirk that shone through his dour face.

"I feel a little faint," Keisuke complained. That was the only thing on his mind.

"Deactivate them now. It must be consuming a lot of your chakra," Sasuke advised. "More than that, though, there's a lot we need to talk about. Better come in with me."

~X~

It was late at night when the next visions emerged. This time, Asami was fully prepared. Sumire-sensei, Kagami, and Teuchi were all beside her, which made her feel a lot safer.

The sky bled red and orange with explosions. Once again, she was immersed in chaos. The few people that surrounded her were huddled together in panic, including Asami herself.

Slowly, she stood up. There were sounds of kunais clashing. She could feel beams of chakra reverberating through the area. She could sense heat wave after heat wave produced by searing fire ninjutsus. Then she could touch small vapours of water created from the clash of fire and water. Blasts of wind circulated around her before finally lifting her up, all the way up in the air, endowing her with a bird's eye view of the entire situation.

Then her eyes fell on something familiar. Dad. Keisuke. And... grandpa Sasuke. They were all off in the distance, fighting against masked men with strange tattoos on their arms. Dad shielded Keisuke from a severe attack before plunging into the fray again. Sasuke appeared to be barking instructions at one of them and, immediately after, Keisuke rushed off, leaving the two adults to finish the fight.

Something was off. Asami wasn't sure if she could fully confirm this, but it appeared as if Sasuke's figure was a little faded. Then again, maybe this perception came from the lighting.

"Kagami! Your hands!"

She was wrenched back to the present by Teuchi's worried exclamations.

"I... this is freaky. Freaky." Kagami commented, perplexed.

"What's wrong?" Asami turned around to face both of them, along with Sumire-sensei, who was still deep in thought.

"My hands," Kagami said, frowning and showing them to her, "They look faded." They had, since Asami's vision, acquired a translucent quality and she could almost make out the body behind them. "This is weird because I can still use them, no problem."

Asami looked at her own palms, still flesh, without a trace of transparency. She felt her heart sink.

"Looks like it has began," Sumire noted gravely.

"Sumire-sensei... One more thing: I saw dad."

~X~

They were submerged in a red and crimson world. Their surroundings were immaterial, swirling around them and manifesting as sporadic pieces of their collective memories. Keisuke thought he saw grandpa Sasuke as Hokage and Kakko cry while contemplating on whether to jump out of a window. Heavy stuff. His was about him gleefully serving dad a bowl of ramen, which looked very out of place.

"Both of you are in my Infinite Tsukyomi, where time and space are of little consequence," Sasuke explained. "I can mold my surroundings according to my own will. We have a lot to discuss."

"The Intouchables?" Both Keisuke and Kakko asked concurrently.

"Jinx you owe me a dingo!" Keisuke joked before unleashing an awkward air of misunderstanding. Kakko probably had no idea what dangoes are.

"Yes. The Intouchables." Sasuke continued, ignoring Keisuke's ill-timed joke. "They are behind the recent troubles. They were the ones who hired the Ravagers two years ago."

"You mean, the mooks that chased me and me being here?" Keisuke suggested.

"Partly," Sasuke answered, "At least, this is where my speculations heretofore have taken me." He took another breath. "They're planning something big. They could, if their plans work out, threaten our very fabric of existence. Kakko, are you aware of the importance of Sekai no Hashi?"

"Well... my mother" - and the boy winced at the mention of her - "my mother would always say that were are a connection point between many worlds and planets. That we bring everyone together and underpin interdimensional coherence or something."

"Very good," Sasuke complimented Kakko, which made him smile, "Might I also mention, that the forbidden scroll that once took your father here, Keisuke, was partly forged in Sekai no Hashi. Oh, he hasn't told you about any of this? Well, we can leave it to him to explain for us later. Anyways, in a day, tomorrow actually, the Great Convergence will occur."

"What's that?" Keisuke questioned.

"It's a rare event, a rare event during which the fabric of various dimensions temporarily align and when interdimensional interaction becomes a very real possibility. It typically lasts for another day, at least this is what documents from the ancient Ainur civilization tell me. If Sekai no Hashi is destroyed on that date then... then I fear that our dimensions, Keisuke, will collide," Sasuke explained gravely. The air around them turned cold.

And his - technically speaking - grandfather from an alternate dimension was at the centre of it all, emanating a grim and bleak darkness that dug itself into the vicinity. It was the first time that it occurred to Keisuke just how dangerous Sasuke was. Sure, there was Sasuke Uchiha the myth, alongside Naruto Uzumaki, the two twin giants that blazed through history and shaped its contours. Sasuke Uchiha, the once rogue criminal that made experienced jonins tremble in fear. Yet the fact never resonated in his mind for the main reason that Sasuke and Naruto primarily, in his experience, were affable grandfathers who were a little bit indulgent at times, always at ease and done with meddling in the vicissitudes of the world, handing the mantle over to the next generation.

"What would happen then?"

"No one knows," Sasuke whispered. "It can't be something good."

"Why on earth would the Intouchables do such a thing?" Keisuke frowned. These people sounded like class-S dumbasses. "And how does one destroy Sekai no Hashi anyway? Are they going to blow it all up?"

"They might. Or they might create a weapon that reduces the proximity of our dimensions to nil. To answer your first question: energy," Sasuke mused, thinking hard, "Such a collision would create massive energy... and sources of chakra. It would, if harnessed, contain the potential to - possibly - remake worlds."

"Well, then what are we doing? Let's stop them!"

"Keisuke, patience. The Intouchables are a vast organisation with many eyes and ears across our universe. They even had support amongst members of the Ootsusuki clan. They won't be easy to take down. More than that, there is evidence that they have been planning this for ages," Sasuke stated.

"Keisuke, Master Sasuke..." Kakko tried to speak up. "I think I know something... I've had a dream of this girl yesterday. I mean, I was her, which was weird, but people around me were screaming and disappearing. I... I have to admit, it's not the first time that I've had strange experiences. This one time, when I was trying to help an old man counter the Ravagers, I fainted. But apparently, I had already accomplished my mission." Kakko was speaking so rapidly that Sasuke asked him to calm down and slow down. "I... Keisuke, when we were practicing together and I figured out how to throw shrikens and use chakra... I got the feeling that I've already done it before. Like some ghost reflexes."

Sasuke had a positively enigmatic look about him. Silence reigned amongst all of them. Keisuke had no idea what to say or what to make of any of this.

"Kakko, I should have told you this earlier..." Sasuke finally began. "You... you possess a special ability."

"Special?"

"I don't know the full mechanics behind it. But it seems that you can serve as a sort of portal between dimensions. Boruto, Keisuke's father, accidentally weaved his way into you through a connection I cannot explain and had a conversation with me. It was two years ago. It was also when we first met. There was another time too. You looked like you were in a trance when I saw you and you adopted the expressions of a terrified princess. She kept screaming and screaming that someone was coming after her, the Intouchables, to be precise. I know this a lot to take in."

There was a sober recognition in Kakko's expressions. Keisuke went next to the boy and held his purple hand. All these revelations, all these changes in the past few days can't have been easy. "Everything will be alright," Keisuke whispered in an attempt to comfort Kakko.

"And, I'm sorry to burden you, but can you please show us the girl that you were?" Sasuke requested, his eyes fixed on Kakko's.

"How would I do that?" Kakko asked, returning Sasuke's gaze.

"Just think of her, remember her looks, her expressions - and she will manifest herself," Sasuke explained. "That's how things work in this particular genjutsu; I will teach you about genjutsus later on."

Kakko nodded and shut his eyes.

Suddenly, a girl with medium height, long cascading blond hair and bright blue eyes materialized in front of them. Her mannerisms were a little off, too stiff in Keisuke's opinion, and her eyes had a dead look about them - but there was no mistaking -

Keisuke gasped and shuddered at the same time. "That's my sister!"

~X~

"Where would you be going, Master Sasuke?" Kakko followed Sasuke to the door even when Keisuke obediently stayed behind. "Are you going to stop them, the Intouchables?" A strange anger erupted from the depths of his psyche. The Intouchables. Whether they admitted it or not, they were responsible for his mother's death. They were the ones who hired the Ravagers the first place to unleash the bioweapon. They were behind it all. His mother and his brother's death. He wanted to make them pay.

"Stay," Sasuke commanded as he turned around, his red eyes blazing.

"I can help," Kakko asserted.

"And... how would you do that?" Sasuke gave the boy a small sigh.

"I'll - I can help carry your bags, I can collect scrolls for you, I can record things down for you, I speak a lot of languages, I-"

"There will be no need, Kakko. Be patient, for one day, your time will come," Sasuke said. "In the meantime, you will stay here with Keisuke. Keisuke!" He called. His voice reverberated through the cave. Footsteps rushed forward.

"Kakko, Sasuke!" Keisuke looked surprised to see Kakko there. "What's the matter?"

"Take care of this kid while I'm out," Sasuke instructed. "Also, both of you, remember, some important scrolls are stored here. They concern the details of the Great Convergence and I have yet to decipher them properly. No else knows about this location, but just in case something goes wrong, use this scroll to reach me." He handed Keisuke a small scroll. "Don't worry, it's not very complicated. All you have to do is say my name."

Keisuke nodded, feeling endowed with a sense of responsibility, all while Kakko scowled unhappily.

The Wanderer, Sasuke Uchiha, the former Hokage of the Elemental Republics, had, for reasons Kakko couldn't quite fathom, agreed to take the boy under his wing. He had promised - after the first conversation that Kakko could consciously recall - to teach the boy how to defend himself and to take the boy alongside him in his future endeavors. It was a promise. But right now, the man was callously brushing Kakko aside. It hurt. Perhaps there was always a shroud of coldness surrounding Sasuke and the glimmer of empathy and sympathy he showed as Kakko awoke to the death of his family, perhaps it was just a fleeting phenomenon, almost like a dream.

Sinking into himself as Sasuke left, Kakko growled and refused to get up from the ground, driving Keisuke nuts. "Look Kakko, I wanted to leave with gramps- Sasuke, I mean - I wanted to go too. But let's look at this from his perspective: we'll most likely be objects of burden. He'll likely spend as much time protecting us as he would be spending on the task itself. He's keeping us here to protect us!"

Rationality and reason are terrible things to behold, but also easily brushed aside. "I don't care," muttered Kakko. "I don't care..."

"How about this, Kakko? How about me teaching you some more shinobi tricks? I've got a few chakra-testing papers from Sasuke's desk - I forgot the name - that can determine what's your chakra nater. Look," Keisuke uttered as he shoved a piece of paper in front of Kakko's face, "Why don't we go to the training grounds and see?"

Begrudgingly, Kakko conceded. He was a little curious after all.


End file.
